Designing Your Life

The College You Attend Doesn’t Matter As Much As Your Drive

// March 27th, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Personal Development

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I spent far too much time in high school worrying about whether I would get into an Ivy League school. I felt horrible the first time I received a B on my report card. I felt I wouldn’t be successful unless I went to a great school. I wouldn’t be able to make the money I wanted to make, I wouldn’t have the opportunities, and I wouldn’t have a great life. By the time I graduated I knew Ivy League was out of reach, so I went to the University of Oregon. I was disappointed to not achieve that dream, so I set my sights on an Ivy League law school. I have recently decided I don’t want to be a lawyer anymore, so I will never attend an Ivy League school. I finally figured out something though. My golden ticket to a wonderful life doesn’t lie in an Ivy League school– it lies in me.

I think that the most important decision is to go to college. Go to any college, because it matters more if you go to college and it matters less which one you go to. You are likely to have a higher earning paycheck and a better life if you attend college. The statistics seem to agree on this, but which college you attend doesn’t make a huge difference in quality of life. The difference it will make in your life most likely will relate to where it is located, if you like the school, the students and other factors. You should find a school that you like, not one that you think will make you the most money. You have to spend four years there, so if you enjoy it then you will do better.

There are some good qualities in an Ivy League school

I will admit that Ivy League schools do have some qualities that make it beneficial to attend them. They provide you with a lot of potential connections that might be useful one day. You will get contacts everywhere though and sometimes they might be better. You are more likely to have a larger amount of special events in an Ivy League school that could benefit you. Top lectures will go to Ivy League schools; you might get to meet some very important people. Who wouldn’t want Steve Jobs to talk at their (Stanford) commencement? The school will have more money, because the school is a business. It has to make money and it does a great job at it. There are a few times that an Ivy League on your resume will give you a foot in the door, but the important part is that your abilities are the thing that gets you the job, not the school. It can give you a small boost, but it is what you make of it.

Where do Nobel Laureates go to school?

The last 10 Nobel laureates in Chemistry attended University of Nebraska, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Berea College, Augsburg College, University of Massachusetts, Washington State University, University of Florida, University of California, Riverside, and Harvard University. As you can see Harvard appears twice which makes sense since they get to pick from the elite individuals in the country. However, these are not all Ivy League schools. It shows that genius can come from anywhere. It depends on the individual more. Another example the WSJ compares the top CEOs of the biggest corporations. “Most CEOs of the biggest corporations didn’t attend Ivy League or other highly selective colleges. They went to state universities, big and small, or to less-known private colleges.Wal-Mart Stores CEO H. Lee Scott, for example, went to Pittsburg State University in Kansas, Intel CEO Paul Otellini to University of San Francisco and Costco Wholesale CEO James Sinegal to San Diego City College.”

The individual is the one that succeeds

Those that do succeed in Harvard and do make a lot of money did it because they have the ability to succeed. They were selected because they showed they had the drive to succeed. The question is would they have still be successful if they hadn’t gone to Harvard? Some people just have the ability to do great things no matter where they go. You would be able to find extraordinary people in any university, because they choose to succeed. So, if you really want a golden ticket to your life then take advantage of your opportunities and have a drive because that is what will set you apart from the rest. Your ability will be far more important than the school you attend.

Current high school students:

Don’t worry about the school you get into. You can make the best out of any situation. I know people that will try to challenge themselves in a simple class because they want to do the best they can. There was a student in my literature class last term that chose to do an essay on a book because the professor warned us that it would difficult to read. He didn’t try to take the easy way out; instead he did what would challenge him in order to get better. You don’t need Harvard to challenge you; there are many opportunities for you at any university. Go above and beyond the expectations. Don’t take the easy way. Finally, don’t worry about getting into the best school. It caused me tons of stress in high school, but now that I have gone to the University of Oregon those grades really don’t matter. I worked hard for my high GPA, yet it doesn’t matter now that I have gotten into the university. They didn’t get me a scholarship; they didn’t get me into an Ivy League school. The one good thing they did was prepare me for college. I didn’t struggle the first term, instead I earned all ‘A’s. Don’t worry about the college you go to, worry about the challenges you will take in college.

Make A Small Difference

// March 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // relationships

A friend was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean. As my friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up on the beach, and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water. My friend was puzzled.
He approached the man and said. “Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing.”
“I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”
“I understand,” my friend replied, “but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”
The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “Made a difference to that one!”



There is the assumption that a small action will not make any difference. This is a horrible thought because then no action is taken, which ensures that no difference is made. We should try to make small differences, because these can be the most important to someone. If you experience someone going out of their way to help you, then it makes a difference to you.

There is an expectation to help everyone

You don’t have to save the world to make a difference. It is hard to accept sometimes that we don’t have to make a difference to a lot of people in order to help. I know that I would love to reach out and help a lot of people, but sometimes this isn’t always possible. It is possible to help one person though. Perhaps even a few people, but it doesn’t have to be everyone.


We lose sight that a few people are still people . They matter, they count, and they should be cared for. It is wonderful to try to help all the starving kids in Africa, but simply helping one child in Africa is a wonderful thing. Don’t forget that you are still helping one person at a time. If you are able to help one person a day for the rest of your life then that begins to make a huge difference soon.

It’s like a friendship, It’s intimate

You have no idea how happy it makes me when someone goes out of their way to help only me. They simply do it from the kindness of their heart. It makes more of a difference to me than someone that helps me simply because I am part of a group of people that they are trying to help.
Think of your friends. You normally don’t try to help all of them by one big action; instead you will help each one that needs it. People are unique and often their problems are unique. You shouldn’t ignore the fact that one solution for one person will not work for the next. My friends are not all the same and I know that I cannot solve each of their problems with one simple solution.

Ways to help someone

Sometimes no one needs help, but they could use a little lift in their day. Try to do something out of the ordinary, such as stopping to help them with something. I don’t mean do something that is very unique, I mean do something that isn’t expected. These are the best gifts you can give to someone.

You might know someone that really needs help. They might be homeless, hungry, depressed, jobless, or something else. You don’t have to solve the homeless problem; instead you should simply help one homeless person or two. It doesn’t matter that you can’t help everyone, it matters that you helped someone. You made a difference to one person.

Together, We make a large difference

It’s the old idea, if everyone contributes then it starts to add up. It is true, but the problem is not everyone will contribute. Ignore that fact and keep helping, because you might just inspire someone to help someone else. Your actions could go farther than you might think. I know if someone helped me I feel more inclined to help someone out later. You never know what kind of difference you really do make.




Photo by Topyti