The Right Choice At An Early Age

Young adults also are unaware of how important choices are early in life. This article can inform readers to consider making good choices early in life for a better and healthier future. Andrew reflects on learning the valuable lesson about education while working 12-hour days in a manufacturing plant. How ‘ Sweating away summers as a factory worker ‘ may be the only option for some but he had the privilege to attend college and was not doing the best he could by skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes. Talking to co-workers and much older adults inspired Andrew to make the most of his college years before entering the real world for good. With a vast improvement in computer and technology, few people realize the true value of education and hard work today.

Andrew Braaksma’s essay, “Some Lessons from the Assembly Line,” describes how a college student discovers the value of education by working a full-time job and challenges in the “real world”. In the article, author Andrew Braaksma takes us on a journey of reflection of when his arrogance turned into a valuable life lesson on education, Privilege, and self-responsibility. Braaksma reveals the hardships and uncertainties of working in a factory and how it affects his perceptions of school and work. While Some college students spend their free time hanging out with friends or taking summer trips, Andrew Braaksma’s summer vacation is not much of a break but instead, he is immersed in “rows of hulking, spark-showering machines that have replaced the lush campus and cavernous lecture halls of college life”. More importantly, working 12-hour days in a stressful working environment insightfully reveals the importance of hard work, appreciation, and education.

He was able to meet older peers and learn many things about life that he would have not have learned in college Like outsourcing and uncertainty as one day a co-worker at the factory informed Braaksma that the units will be shut down within six months and moved to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour. When thinking about his co-worker he can only be more grateful in the opportunity to compete in the job market by going to school. He proves this by stating ‘ The things that factory work has taught me how lucky I am to get an education, how to work hard, how easy it is to lose that work once you have it’. He further thought about times he handed in half-written papers and was able to sleep till noon. ‘ My lessons about education are learned at the expense of those who weren’t fortunate enough to receive one”. How are they going to feed their family if they do not have the education to apply for a job in a world that is requiring post-secondary education? He recalls the days he did not put forth his best effort and work on class assignments.

Because there is no specific training program or degree for production workers most companies require the minimum of a high school degree or equivalent. He thinks about how people spending 30 years where he only two months at a time is possible the result of not working to the best of their ability and taking advantages of opportunities younger in their lives. When having a Post- secondary education, it can increase your chances of getting the dream job and creating more opportunities for yourself. Without education, you are not giving yourself the best chances at life to have success and Ultimately live a happy and healthy life that we all strive for. Earning your college degree will help you realize your goals in your career as well as life in general. It requires a lot of hard work, but that work prepares you for a challenging and rewarding career and a more fruitful life. Just like Braaksma, I have a better understanding and appreciation for hard work and education. Going to school to get an education is very important and will lead you toward your career goal and to succeed.