Do you think the WT has become more lenient or stricter over the year?. I am 21 and I remember just 4 years ago going to college was looked at as something negative. Girls my age, we had plans to be FT pioneers and become secretaries. So I never thought of going to school, picking a major or anything. I really did not know anything about college at all. Then we moved to atlanta and suddenly everyone is in school. I dunno if it was b/c the counsel on college was lightened or it was just because I was in a different area. I felt so out of place. I am 21 and in my freshman year! All the kids in my classes are fresh out of high school. Me? My major is still undeclared. But I heard about that new article in the October WT that starts putting negative views on college again. Its like the society is wishy washy. They give you just enough rope but I think when they feel like everyone is taking more than there share they tighten it up again. Weird. And do you think its silly for me to be in school when I don't know exactly what I wanna do. Whoa! I tell the sisters and brothers that out in service and they look at me like I am crazy saying that I should be pioneering instead and then I can decide. But guess what? I was pioneering on and off for the past 3 years and I'm still undecided. I wasted all that time when by now I would at least on my way. What are you're views? I figure I should seek that advice of the older ones!
SHOULD I PIONEER OR COLLEGE?
by stillAwitness 93 Replies latest watchtower bible
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ButtLight
Im 38, and didnt go to college, cause the "end" was near. So here I sit without anything! Go To College!
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wanderlustguy
Not going to college is the one thing I would go back and change if given the option to only make one different decision.
Go to school, and you learn about how to live in the world...you know...the place you have to work and make a living?
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littlerockguy
My post would be the same as Buttlights but Im 37 and male. Go to college and get a job to support yourself. They WTS isn't going to make your living for you, nor do anything else for you for that matter!!
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diamondblue1974
Welcome to the forum stillAwitness.
I think if you read the articles in the Awake you will find that their stance on education is still as jaundiced as it has always been; they flip flop all over the place to try and suggest these things are your decision and a matter of conscience but in reality they dont agree with it full stop.
I think one reason is that it will take you away from a heavily controlled environment (a JW family) and or you will be taught to challenge, validate and to reason on not just one opinion.
In my view and in answer to your title question I would carry on with your education; even if you decide to run with your family and return to the meetings etc they will never be able to take away your education from you and you will have it to fall back on when you need it most.
Good luck and welcome.
DB74
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Ellie
Go to college and dont worry about not knowing exactly what to study, the very fact you are there is something and you are only 21, you have plenty of time to decide on your vocation,just learn as much as you can, I'm sure you will not regret it.
Honestly, I know what I'm talking about, I made a similar mistake to you in not persueing my education, I am now 25 and still wondering what I am going to do but whatever I decide it will involve going back to college or finding a career, no knocking on doors for sure.
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Finally-Free
A person's life circumstances are constantly changing, and not always for the better. It's best to get your education now, while you're young. It's MUCH harder when you reach middle age. I did it, and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I was faced with the choice of re-educating or being disabled and unable to work.
The "pioneer service" will always be there, if that's really what you want. The opportunity to get a solid start to life won't always be there.
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under74
Its like the society is wishy washy.
Yes it is.
And do you think its silly for me to be in school when I don't know exactly what I wanna do.
No, not weird at all...I was almost 2 years into undergrad before I figured out what I wanted to do...and I was 25. I figure school is about taste testing in a way....you can try out different things in different classes. You can see what really intrests you and what you're good at. You're young and keep in mind that when I was in grad school there were people older than myself suddenly realizing that the department (subject/major) they were in wasn't right for them. People change and have the time to do so. Don't worry about it. If you choose something and it doesn't pan out you can find something else that will....And I'm not speaking as someone who has all the money in the world to change my mind...I just know there are ways.
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skinnyboy
definately college. For if you have an education, with that comes reason, and objectivity, traits frowned upon by the one-sided view of the Society.
Learn to live for yourself, and support yourself, you will release the real self within you if you do, trust me, i've been there, its lonely to start at the begining of this journey, but take heart, many of us have been there and survived, and are happier for it, plus richer materially :)
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sir82
My recommendation:
Get out the WT CD, and do a search on articles related to education from the 60's 70's and early 80's. You will notice a few things:
-- The almost universal admionition was "avoid college at all costs"
-- The reason was, "this old system is almost over! The new system is right around the corner"
-- Getting a well-paying job in this "system of things" was at best a waste of time, since the end was so close.
Now think. You are 21 years old. Imagine that you had been born 30 years earlier, that you were 21 years old in 1975, not 2005. If you had followed that counsel, not gotten any more education, what position would you be in?
You'd be 51 years old, working a boring, unchallenging, dead-end job, 0 savings for retirement, 0 savings for your kids education. The society was wrong then. The new system was not "right around the corner". Why do you think they are right now?
The society will be saying "the end is going to be real soon now" for the next 100 years.
Get yourself an education, you will not regret it.