After coming to the United States, I met a lot of young Americans (students) and asked them about their life in university or college. I was really amazed to see that most of them (approximately 90%) were paying the tuition fee on their own. They had taken loans from banks or from their parents, and they have to pay it all back. It was really an inspirational thing for me.
I talked to many young adults about this topic, and they said that the day they turn 18, they become totally independent. Their parents are no longer feeding them or paying for their future. Their parents want them to work hard and stand on their own feet. When they get into college, they try to find jobs so that they can pay their tuition fee. But if they can't find any, they take loans or borrow money from their relatives, and once they get a job, they pay all the money back. This helps them learn to search for jobs and start planning for their future. Furthermore, it also motivates them to study hard and do well in college so that they can get a good job after they graduate and have a successful career.
One of my American friends (Daniel Ray) at MSU told me about his first year in college. He would work at Walmart at night and take classes during the day. He earned $8.75 per hour, which was a good amount of money for him. He would work 30 hours a week and use that money to pay his college fee. With the money he saved from his earnings, he bought his own car. I was really inspired by his story.
I found my American classmates taking keen interest in the lectures and not making any disturbance during class. They know that if they don't listen to the lecture carefully, they won't be able to get good grades in exams, and ultimately it would affect their professional career and have a bad impact on their resume. I was impressed by the youth of their society.
In Pakistani society, young adults are totally dependent on their parents, and parents work really hard to pay for their expenses and make their children's future bright. I'm not saying that parents aren't doing well when they pay for their children's expenses, but the children should also think that if their parents are working so hard, they must study and give them positive results. Some students don't care about their future, but their parents do, so eventually, these parents are found more burdened and stressed than their children. I have seen some parents who are doing their best for their children's future, but their children are giving zero output. In the end, all the money they invested in building the career of their children is wasted.
But in American culture, it is not like that. Young adults strive hard for their education and do all they can to build an excellent career. In the end, they develop a powerful and strong personality with good communication and interpersonal skills. They have confidence in themselves that they will get a job of their choice. To conclude, I can say that this is a positive aspect of their culture which I think is helping them progress.
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