UNITED STATES—I do believe that education is the horizon to the future. Am I making the argument that if you obtain the highest education possible it guarantees a job? No. However, when you educate yourself you obtain new knowledge, things that you never expected to utilized in your life become somewhat important. For starters, I learned throughout my undergraduate studies that more than 75 percent of the classes that I took would not provide anything of relevance to me.

However, I have discovered that I am referencing knowledge that I have obtained from these courses time and time again. I find myself stunned at the fact that material and wisdom that I thought would NEVER be used are continually popping into my head when I least expect it.

I guess what they say about memory is indeed true; you may not recall it right away, but when something triggers that information it will ‘explode’ a lightbulb in the head. Right now, I’m taking an advanced management course and my theories about management, leadership, employees, work performance, motivation and everything that deals with a job have totally been shifted.

I’m seeing myself re-navigate and re-tune how I talk to people, how I approach people and how I utilize knowledge to my advantage to complete certain tasks. I’m constantly using the material learned in class to apply to everyday life and to work. How can I shift this behavior to make it work towards my advantage? What can I do to motivate staff to fulfill company goals, their own personal goals? What can be done to prevent work from becoming tedious and mundane?

I will make the argument that when a course delivers material that is interesting and you find intriguing, you tend to connect with it a lot more than when you are simply reading for the sake of reading. Yes, I will be the first to admit that; sometimes I find myself reading something and doing all in my power to comprehend the material. However, if the subject matter doesn’t grab my attention, it just won’t register in my mind.

To all those people out there that think they’re TOO OLD or they’ve reached a point in their lives where they are no longer interested in gaining knowledge, think again. Do not close yourself off. I always thought the same thing, once you finish high school that is it. Once you finish undergraduate studies it’s time to stop, however, I’m now a graduate student and I continually find myself drawn to the notion of wanting to gain knowledge. Learning is actually fun, but at the same time I don’t want to do it my entire life.

This makes me ponder the thought that we should have more access to books and encourage more reading because that is how knowledge is retained. I’ve always been an advocate that education is universal and should be accessible to all parties involved. I hate the idea that some people have the ability to go to college, and others are halted because of financial woes.

As a society, we all know education matters, so if we open the doors for those who want to attend college to have the opportunity to grow, we are opening the doors for social advancement, we’re creating jobs, and we’re providing OPPORTUNITY. Education may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there is indeed a reason why it’s so important in this day and age to obtain knowledge and not to fear it.