This is a guest post from Brad Blackman. It is a response to a post I (Kyle Reed) wrote a couple of weeks ago. If you would like to guest post on Standing On Giants you can do so by going here. Check out Brad on twitter here and his design skills here

A while back, Kyle Reed posed an interesting question on his blog: Would you encourage your kids to not go to college? It sparked quite a bit of discussion, as you might imagine. (You can read the comments here)

Like Kyle, I see several sides to the issue: it’s expensive, you may not directly use the degree you get, and you can learn a lot of the same things on your own time via the magic of the Internet. On the other hand, the college experience brings insight and feedback you get from peers and professors that you don’t get anywhere else.

Yet one thing that I don’t think anybody touched on in the blog post or in the comments was the social aspects of going to college.

(more…)

Yesterday I wrote a post entitled “Why I Shouldn’t Have Gone To College” and mentioned a guy by the name of Peter Thiel, founder of paypal. He had an interesting quote about the educational bubble, but also has an interesting idea to combat that educational bubble.

Check out his response to education and his plan to change it all:

How Much Would It Cost For You To Not Go To College?

*kyle

“I have learned more in the past 6 months than I have in the past 6 years” is probably not a good conversation starter that you want to use on your parents any time soon. But the simple fact is, I am learning so much about life, leadership, and business right now that I have a hard time keeping my excitement to myself.

Do not tell my parents this, but College was a huge waste of time. Forgive this obvious ignorance, this is not to be a blanket statement. Not all of college is a waste of time, but there were aspects that seemed rather pointless. The money spent, the time wasted and the pointless classes all have led me to believe college isn’t all that it is cracked up to be. College can be more like a place to hide rather then a place to excel.

Dream with me here, what if instead of going to college right after high school we started a business, traveled the world, moved to a different city, or even invested the money in the stock market? What if we did it all different then what we were told to do?
(more…)

There is definitely something wrong here. The system of college and the debt that is incurred is broken…the system is broken.

I wonder this. If you could take all the money you spent on college and use it in a different way, what would you do?

Check out this infograph on the cost of college:

An exercise for you:

-Grab a piece of paper (yes a real piece of paper)

-Write at the top “If my life was a story, what is the plot of my character?”

-Answer the question.

I hope that you can fill that sheet of paper with words.
If not, keep reading below.

For most of us (myself included) we know we are a character in a story, a story that is bigger then ourselves, a story that has an overarching theme. As a character in this story we interact with other characters each and every day. Some of these characters have defined purpose and plot, other characters are more like “extras” that sit at the bar sipping on a cocktail trying to blend in. But sometimes it is easy to get lost in the story, to lose sight of where you are going.
Simply put, you lose purpose and meaning.

I have to ask the question again:

Are You A Character In Search Of A Plot?

Still don’t know the answer?
Here is a way to distinguish if you are in search of a plot or not:

If you have no plot:

• You start projects only to stop them half way
• You find yourself spending money on items that you think will bring happiness only to find you want more
• When challenged you shrink back rather then step up
• You are always asking others for things rather then giving away anything
• You listen to Ke$ha (okay that is sort of a joke, but seriously don’t do this)
• You tend to react with anger rather then patience when dealt setbacks
• You constantly compare yourself to others

If you have a plot:

• You live from a place of response not reaction
• You have clear life goals and plans to accomplish them
• You speak less and listen more
• When faced with a “no” you keep moving forward
• You don’t just consume you produce
• You spend less time looking for answers and more time asking questions

The way you answer the question above will determine the direction your life takes. Often times the plot does not reveal itself until we spend some time searching for it out. If you find yourself feeling like a character in search of a plot spend some time writing out the last three months of your journey notices recurring themes and situations. Spend time going through the characteristics of those who have a plot and those who do not have a plot and see check which applies to you.

The plot will never reveal itself until we are willing to see it.

Question: Is there anything you would add to either list?

*kyle

I am a 20 something blogger, most of you reading this are 20 something bloggers. (if you have not added yourself to the growing list go here to do that).

At the core of blogging is community. If you do not have a community blogging becomes useless. I loved the response from last weeks post about 20 something bloggers and would to continue to foster that community.

So here is what I am asking you to do…

Take a look at all the 20 something bloggers on the list (go here to do that). Add them into your google reader, follow them on twitter (I am working on turning all those bloggers into a twitter list) and lets continue to grow our community.

Also, take a look at the badges below. I have provided the code for a 300×250 or 125×125 badge that you can add to your site. Grab one of those and start sporting that proudly on your site.

Some have wondered, “Why the buffalo?”
Well, first off buffalo’s are the coolest animal out there (personally speaking). But secondly, and most importantly, I love the image of a buffalo charging forward. They possess power, strength, and purpose. They are animals that possess great presence and that is something that I think 20 somethings possess. I chose a buffalo because I see this community of 20 somethings as a group of individuals that are coming together and are moving forward, charging ahead and supporting each other in this marathon.

So now what? What will you do with all of this?

Sport a 20 Something Bloggers badge on your site.

the Code:

(make sure you add a < in front of the a for it to work)
a href="http://kreed.it/20somethingbloggers"" title"20 Something Blogger" class="fade">img src=”http://thoughtsaboutnothing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/20somethingbloggers300x250.gif” alt=”20 Something Blogger”>

(make sure you add a < in front of the a and img)
a href="http://kreed.it/20somethingbloggers"" title"20 Something Blogger" class="fade">img src=”http://thoughtsaboutnothing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/20somethingbloggers125x125.jpg” alt=”20 Something Blogger”>

I need you to go and read this article. Like right now, or maybe later today. But seriously you need to read this article from the New York Times about 20 Somethings.

Click Here To Read

Here is what I am hearing people say about 20 Somethings…

They are taking longer to grow up

And in some ways I cannot argue this, but in many ways I want to argue this with anyone and everyone.

There are a couple of key quotes that I pulled from this post. I will list them out and then would love for you to react.

• The 20s are a black box, and there is a lot of churning in there.
• The traditional cycle seems to have gone off course, as young people remain un­tethered to romantic partners or to permanent homes, going back to school for lack of better options, traveling, avoiding commitments, competing ferociously for unpaid internships or temporary (and often grueling) Teach for America jobs, forestalling the beginning of adult life.
• Forty percent move back home with their parents at least once.
• (describing 20 somethings) identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between and a rather poetic characteristic he calls “a sense of possibilities.
• Young people spend their lives lumped into age-related clusters — that’s the basis of K-12 schooling — but as they move through their 20s, they diverge.
• Arnett says that young men and women are more self-focused than at any other time of life, less certain about the future and yet also more optimistic, no matter what their economic background.
• what Arnett heard most often was ambivalence — beginning with his finding that 60 percent of his subjects told him they felt like both grown-ups and not-quite-grown-ups.

Questions:
Are there any quotes that you pulled from this article?
What are your reactions to some of the things listed above?

Let us discuss

*kyle