Should People Continue with Their Education Simply for Fun?

Some say we should not write essays for fun. However, I believe we should write essays for our own entertainment. I base my examples on personal, historical, and cultural reasons. In fact, if people can write essays for entertainment, they can also continue every aspect of their education simply for the joy of studying. The overwhelming sense of self-accomplishment, the merits of being simply knowledgeable, and the increased social status due to education can all serve to justify a person pursuing education not for practical benefits of getting better jobs with higher salaries.

Higher level of education can bring a person greater sense of achievement in life. The pride and self-confidence associated with having a respectable degree from a respectable university can boost a person's stature in front of others. For instance, as I finally received my student visa to UK today, I am officially on my path to continue my one-year master's degree in the London School of Economics. From the very beginning, I never thought of the degree as a leverage for a better job, but simply as an opportunity to boost my life experience in a brand-new place. The extra experiences one can have in the course of education can lead to a higher level of maturity and worldliness best expressed in greater sense of self-confidence.

Yet, the experiences that come with education is not only manifested in mental comfort but also scholastic intelligence. Even if extra education lead to no better job prospect, it is certainly guaranteed to increase the amount of knowledge one possesses, and will provide the additional intellectual evidences needed to improve one's logic and rationale. For instance, a few years ago, a well-accomplished Ivy League student was once sent by her parents to a boarding school in the Philippines. In the course of her interaction with the society and people of the Philippines, she gained much greater knowledge of the country than her peers ever will and is easily proclaimed a local expert on Southeast Asia. Education, by throwing a person into a whole new environment, gives the person opportunities and requirements for learning both in and outside the classroom. The person with more of such educational experiences are bound to have a more diverse set of knowledge than others.

And as the more educated gain respect for their greater confidence and knowledge, it is often not a surprise that they will also gain respect and admiration within a society. The adulation of the others for the educated is culturally reflected by their higher status within society even when they do not necessarily have the best jobs and incomes. Such social tendency can be illustrated by a famous doctor living in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Even though many government workers with high salaries live in his neighborhood, the doctor is still considered a patriarch of the neighborhood due to the superior knowledge he gained through five years of medical school and years of practice. Social status is not always based on financial revenues, but always upon respect. Respect is earned through honest application of knowledge, as in the case of doctors, and not through corruption and deceit, as in the case of bureaucrats and investment bankers. Thus, knowledge will always be a conduit for higher social status.

People often only pursue higher education knowing that better job prospects await its completion. But just as writing essays, pursuing education itself can be simply done for the sake of education and other mental, non-monetary benefits. As personal, historical, and cultural reasons show, education can provide the mental strength a person need to keep walking down his or her life path with heads up high. The confidence and happiness provided by experiences of extra education will always worthwhile than any extra income gained from that education.