From the moment we enter high school, college is pushed on us in every assembly, every AP level class, and every extracurricular activity. Undertaking a Bachelor’s degree becomes an assumed inevitability rather than an academic or career step. For many, it becomes a delay; by staying in academia, they aren’t forced to enter the job market. The college preparation obsession in American high schools has led many students onto degrees without a proper assessment of their options post-high school. “Among recent high school graduates, fewer than half said their school prepared them for any option other than college or a job.” I was fortunate enough to know what I wanted to study by my senior year of high school but many high school students apply and commit to colleges without a clear vision. While I believe college can be beneficial in allowing students to engage with a wide-range of subjects, it’s a hefty price tag for a self-discovery retreat.

Expanded internet access and the ubiquity of smartphones have turned us into a society of glancers and scrollers; the potential to get ahead on messages or promote our work or enrich our knowledge buzzes frantically from our pockets at all hours. With such effortless access to so dazzling a breadth of resources, the compulsion to partake is consuming. Not picking up the phone means squandering an opportunity for self-improvement.

In 2026, this element of spontaneity and unmediated experience feels almost unfathomable. Instead of living through something, we’ve shifted into a society that constantly comments on what it means to live. Social media feeds are saturated with articles and think-pieces about how ‘phones are ruining our lives’ and how ‘being offline is the new cool’. The internet has a problem with constantly seeking the validation of everyone whilst simultaneously wanting to detach itself entirely.