Dear Kid,
I saw a statistic recently that said 43% of college students consider dropping out of school.
Frankly, I don’t believe it.
Maybe I’m naïve, but I don’t believe it.
I think the number is probably closer to 90%. Maybe 98%.
I believe it’s human nature to consider options. I think that’s what college is all about—considering options. Changing majors. Meeting new people and having new experiences. Getting drunk on your 21st birthday.
The big issue in life isn’t what we think about. The important stuff isn’t what hops through our brains like a Mardi Gras dancer. The important part is what we do with those thoughts.
Most people who are alive and who have ever held a job have at some point or another wanted to march in to someone’s office and quit. (“I’ll show them!”) Most of us refrain from that knee-jerk reaction. It’s the refraining that’s the important part. Of course we think about it. If we didn’t think about it, all those movies where people kill their bosses wouldn’t exist.
Most people who are alive and have ever been in a relationship have considered ending it (or ending the person we’re in the relationship with). Of course we think about it. We’re human. It’s the refraining from murder that’s the important part.
There is nothing wrong with leaving college. There is nothing wrong with quitting a job. There is nothing wrong with ending a relationship. These can all (under the right circumstances) be healthy, positive things. But let’s admit that we all think about them even if we don’t act on those thoughts. Because it’s the “how” and the “why” we do those things that matters much more than the minute of frustration in which we think about taking our marbles and going home.
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