The Writing Passion

                                    Do Not Despair

By Harriet May Savitz

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            My parents could not afford to send me to a good college.  In fact, they could not afford to send me to any.  Even though the tuition was meager compared to today, there were no funds set aside for such a privilege.  And very few federal grants.  

            Recently, someone from my high school class was planning a reunion.  We glanced back over the years.  He was a retired engineer who had been put in college preparatory high school classes.

            “I didn’t belong there,” he said.  “Because there were no plans to send me to college.  There just was no money.” 

            I admitted I too did not have a college education.  I was put in a business course where I sat wondering how I could get to college with what I was learning.  Of course there was no chance of that possibility, and I knew it.  But I was filled with dreams.   And yet this classmate and I had attained our goals.  We had obtained a higher education.  I took night courses at a local college whenever I could.  He also studied further.   We found a way to learn more.  Nothing could stop us from being more than we were. 

            I see parents today choosing colleges that are expensive, that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, well beyond their means.  I see them going into debt.    Their expectations are high for their children.  To have a good time and a good education. No matter what the sacrifice. Some of the colleges today have tuitions of $40,000 a year.  My father would have laughed and said, “They’re crazy.”  And I would have done the same

            When my own children came to this decision, they had to work for what they wanted.  We did not have enough funds to send them away to college..  It wasn’t even an option. We gave what we could and they contributed the rest..  They worked for their education..  Part-time.  My son washing windows and painting houses.  My daughter selling jewelry and shoes as a sales clerk at the Mall.  Part of the education they obtained was by working for it..  By wanting it.  By appreciating the value of what they were to receive

            Where can one find a higher education that is affordable?  In community colleges, and in state colleges..  Professors stand in every classroom ready to turn information into wisdom.  Courses are available everywhere, even on the internet.  Knowledge can be found wherever one searches for it. 

             To those who do not have the money to go to the most prestigious colleges, to live away from home, do not despair.  Look around you at what is close by.  Bring a determination to read, to listen, to understand, and a willingness to be inspired.  Think of what you can do for the world with what you have, with whatever you are learning wherever you are.  Find a way to take those courses, to elevate your mind, to enter college on whatever level you can for a higher education.   

             What you bring to it will make the difference.  

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