by Lecia Parks Langston, Economist
When I was about thirteen, my parents gave me this poster to hang in my room. It was framed and everything. (My mom really hates thumbtack holes in the wall.) At first, I thought, “Sweet!” After all, they’d given me a poster of an F430 Spider Ferrari. Then, I thought, “Ghetto!” I’d noticed the words on the bottom of the poster: “Justification for Higher Education.”
Even at thirteen, I was pretty sick of school. I couldn’t wait until I graduated. But, the reality was, after working fast food my sophomore year and making virtually NO money, I decided (don’t tell them) my parents might just be right.
After all my sweat, I didn’t even get all my pay when the boss handed me my puny check. (Who was this FICA dude who was getting dollars from my pay?) I figured out that if I’m going to get the kind of car, house, ipod, laptop, etc. I want I had to find a better way of making cash than filling orders for fries. I tried construction. It worked for a while. The pay was better, but then there was no work and my boss didn’t even have the money to pay me.
So, I finally paid attention at one of those career days at school. I discovered that people with the most education usually make the highest wages—particularly if they study math and science. Plus, these same money-making machines very seldom end up in the unemployment line.
Let’s just say, the poster was right. Mom was right. Dad was right. My teachers were right. My school counselor was right. (I mean it. Don’t tell them.) I’ve cleaned up my act, started studying, and plan on attending college next fall. Just put my name on that Ferrari.
