Kudos to Michigan

This post is inspired by a recent post called "College Can Stop You From Getting Smarter"

In the post College Can Stop You from Getting Smarter,  a classmate was arguing that we are encouraged to stay within an immature state because things are provided to us. The post then focuses on how college is not making us independent as expected, but the opposite. The post states that college can keep you in a state that prevents you from unlocking your full potential. This post was a very interesting read because I have always thought the complete opposite. As a student at the University of Michigan, I can say that my ongoing experience at this University has unlocked potential I never new I had and has also made me independent in ways I could have never imagined.

Mastering a PB&J sandwich

In the post, it is assumed that all students start out living in a dorm where everything is hand delivered to them. As a freshman, I did not live in a residence hall but in an apartment on campus. The University did not provide me with living arrangements and necessary furniture. Independent apartment hunting and furniture shopping generated techniques and skills that I never had that I will able to use in the future. Living in a apartment does not have the connivance of having utility costs taken care of like dorms as said in the post. Since I had to cover utility costs, I had to learn how to manage my money and how much I can spend in order to still have enough to pay for rent and utilities for the following month. With that, I learned how to manage money and also learned to prioritize my needs from my wants. Living in an apartment, I can not utilize the dining halls. That means.. I have to make my own food. Crazy, I know. I came into college not knowing how to boil water without burning it. I was used to my mom providing home cooked meals. I have now mastered the making of a PB&J sandwich. Who knows, by the end of college, I may even be able to make spaghetti.. okay lets not get too crazy.



The post also says that Michigan hands us numerous opportunities which makes us less able to make decisions and form opinions. In order to take advantage of Michigan's opportunities, students have to search seek the opportunity which usually involves some kind of application. With the numerous application Michigan Students fill out, skills are builded from the process which helps them with future post-college applications. The opportunities themselves present an ample amount growth potential. Opportunities to communicate and interact with people people do different diversity of cultures takes people out of their comfort zone which helps a person grow. These hands on opportunities are what mold a persons character.

I disagree with Kant when he says that, because we are in a perpetual state of being provided for, we do not escape the unreasonable, basic lifestyle that we are in to become critical thinking adults. 
I disagree with him because I do not think that theory applies for everyone. Being provided for is a very broad term, being provided with an education and opportunities does not mean that the education and experiences are handed to us. Opportunities are presented to us but we have to go through a process to receive it. I do no agree with Kant when he speaks of not escaping the unreasonable to become critical thinkers. If a person wants to be a critical thinker,the perpetual state they are in will not matter. It's what the person makes of the state rather than what the state has to offer.

The point to all of these minute examples of independent living is that even though college presents students with opportunities, it's not about the opportunities that are presented but rather the process that one goes through to receive the opportunity. The transition from living at home to living independently might not seem like such a big deal for some, but the small changes and accommodations I have had to make are what have made me grow and develop as a person. 


With all of the opportunities, experience, and education I have come across, college has not stopped me from getting smarter, but has made me acknowledge that I do not know anything  because of how much more there is to learn. I take on the opportunities that are presented because that is the first step to unlocking ones fullest potential.