Degree won’t buy you safety, sorry.

My Angels,

Ah, the hallowed halls of academia—where dreams are forged, futures are secured, and student loan debt accumulates faster than likes on a Kardashian thirst trap. We’ve been sold the myth that a degree is a golden ticket, a surefire passport to the land of stability and safety. But in the twisted plot of the 21st century, it turns out that diploma might be more of a decorative piece than an actual shield.

Let’s not mince words, my friends: we’ve been duped, hoodwinked, led astray by false prophets. In the grand casino of life, we’ve been betting our chips on the degree jackpot, only to find out the house (read: institutions and the capitalist machinery) always wins. The idea that a piece of parchment can guarantee security is as outdated as a dial-up modem. Welcome to the era where ingenuity and community building are the real MVPs, and your degree might just be a very expensive piece of wall art.

Now, before the academic elite start clutching their pearls and drafting angry emails in Comic Sans, let’s get one thing straight. Education is valuable. Knowledge is power. But the notion that a degree alone will buy you safety is like believing buying a gym membership will make you fit. Sorry, darlings, you actually have to lift the weights.

We live in a time where information is as accessible as ordering Uber Eats. Skills can be self-taught, honed, and monetized without ever stepping foot in a lecture hall. The internet has democratized learning, making it possible for anyone with Wi-Fi and a dream to become an expert in their field. Meanwhile, the true currency of our era is creativity, adaptability, and the ability to forge genuine connections.

The institutions that peddle the degree-for-safety myth are, quite frankly, playing us for fools. They’re the charismatic magicians of the modern age, directing our attention to one hand while the other picks our pockets. By perpetuating the narrative that a degree is the only path to success, they’re not just selling education—they’re selling a dream, one that increasingly looks like a mirage in the desert of the real world.

This relentless push towards formal education feeds into a system that benefits from classism and capitalism. It’s a neat little package deal: get a degree, get in debt, get a job to pay off the debt, rinse and repeat. We’re all pawns in a game where the rules were made by those who already crossed the finish line, leaving the rest of us to figure out that the game board was a labyrinth all along.

But here’s the kicker, my loves: safety and stability aren’t found in a degree. They’re built through innovation, resilience, and the ability to rally a community around a shared vision. The real world isn’t looking for cookie-cutter candidates—it’s starving for originality, for those daring enough to think outside the proverbial box (or classroom, in this case).

So, to all the dreamers, the doers, and the disillusioned degree holders: it’s time to rewrite the script. Let’s not wait for permission from an institution to chase our passions. Let’s build safety nets made of networks, not diplomas. Let’s invest in skills, experiences, and relationships that bring real value to our lives and the lives of those around us.

In the end, your degree won’t buy you safety. But your ingenuity, your willingness to connect and create? That’s priceless. So, sorry, academia, but it looks like the joke’s on you. We’re crafting our own safety manuals, and spoiler alert: they don’t require a bibliography.

With Boundless Love, Chu