Many people succumb to societal pressures in the U.S. We all feel pressured to finish high school, acquire a college degree, get a professional job, get married, have about two children and live in a suburban home with a white picket fence by the age of 30.
The ideal American life sounds obtainable and perfect within a short time limit, until one graduates high school and life hits them in the face.
How many people do you know who have achieved all of these goals in their 20s or 30s? As a college student about to graduate — still in search of a job — this has proven to be quite the difficult task. This type of future maybe obtainable, but it also may not be the right fit for many others.
According to statista.com, about 34 percent of the U.S. female population over 25 years old acquired a four-year college degree in 2017, and about 33 percent of the male population.
The statistics don’t seem right, especially since most students feel pressured to achieve a higher education right out of high school.
Many people go to college after taking a gap year or working, and they still graduate and get a job. It may be at 27 years old instead of 22 or 24 years old, but they are still successful.
College isn’t for everyone, and there are several options for those who don’t go down that path. People can attend trade schools instead, or they can go straight into the workforce in a better-suited job. There are also organizations looking for volunteers like the Peace Corps, which focus on making a real difference in the world.
Society also pushes everyone to marry, but not too young or too old. Some people get married at 18 and stay together for the rest of their lives, while others get married at 60 and realize they found their soulmate. Many people don’t even get married and are perfectly happy and successful without a life partner.
According to statista.com, there were only 60.8 million married couples in the U.S. in 2017. There are about 326 million citizens in our country. This shows less than half of the U.S. population are married citizens.
Society shouldn’t decide when people should get married, or if they should get married at all. It also shouldn’t decide when it’s acceptable for people to get an education, when or if they have children or if they should have an office job in a big city.
Every single person in our country is completely different, so success means different things for all of us. Yes, we should all strive to do our best and to be successful, but that doesn’t mean we should fall into the “cookie-cutter” suburban family with 2.5 children.
Pressuring each other to be married with children before 30, or to graduate college with a strict four-year plan by 22 seems unrealistic and unfair. Those who try so hard to reach these certain goals but find they are cut for a different path experience a great amount of stress and failure.
These people can become even more successful without this one-way path restricted by time, so it’s time we quit pressuring others to get married, breed a bunch of children and work overtime in a job they hate.
Abigail Varnado is a 22-year-old English senior from Amite, Louisiana.
