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School is Addictive! The Thrill of Learning and Discovery

Just a month ago, I was griping to my wife about how I hated school. I was tired of homework, grades, exams, blah blah blah blah blah. I swore I would never go back to school. I had said the same things to her probably hundreds of times over the past 17 months I'd been in the MBA program. (She just rolled her eyes and told me to suck it up.)

Then, just a few days ago, as our classes began to wind down and graduation loomed near, an awful, evil thought popped into my head: what if I got a law degree? "Foolishness! Idiocy! Insanity!" my rational mind argued back. I swept the crazy idea back into the recesses of my mind. Nevertheless, the thought kept returning, beckoning for me to throw myself back into the fray. Why? I don't know. I have a master's degree now, so it's not about achievement. I'm going to be making plenty of money so it's not about my salary. So why?

My best guess is that school has become addictive. Despite all the hardships required, my mind craves the thrill of learning, discovering, and being challenged. I enjoy talking with really smart people and talking about theories and philosophies, the kinds of conversation you won't find in the workplace. It has become a stimulant to me. It has become addictive.

People will argue back that they started school, hated it, and left. All I can say is that school is like alcohol. Some people take it once, and it is so disgusting and traumatic to them that they never go back. Other people get through the initial revulsion and grow to love it, even get hooked on it. (IMPORTANT NOTE!!! That's about where the comparison between school and alcohol ends. School increases your ability to think, create, and contribute. Alcohol, especially taken in excessive quantities, destroys those abilities.)

So, what do you think? Have you ever found yourself hating school, wishing it were over and that you would never have to read another book, textbook or syllabus again? Have you spent countless nights wishing you could be out with your friends instead of stuck in the campus library? If you have, then you might just want to take a minute and really think about whether or not you think you would ever miss anything about being in school. Because chances are, despite the negatives, there are some things that you just might miss! I know I do.

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