By Antonio Quintana
The Centennialight
It is no secret that Graduation by Kanye West is a fan favorite album. Graduation turned 15 years old on the 11th of September 2022. Graduation has many songs referring to Ye’s life now that he was out of school, such as “Flashing Lights” where he talks about things like the paparazzi. He even goes as far as to say that he hates the paparazzi more than the Nazis because of how intrusive and annoying they are to him.
Many Kanye fans across the internet have come to an agreement that the theme of this album is “fame and wealth”. I find it awesome how he expresses his life with the fame and wealth he experiences. He explains how unpleasant and infuriating life can be at times living the lifestyle that he does. This album wasn’t made too far after he started to become popular so he still could have been adjusting to the lifestyle. Graduation was Ye’s third album released after College Dropout and Late Registration.
These albums all set the theme of success and failures during his later years of school which I’m sure many of us can relate to. Ye dropped out of college his freshman year to pursue his music career. He’s always done well in school and his mother was a professor at Chicago State University so I’m sure he’s aware of the importance of school.
I’m sure many of us have had similar thoughts discounting school but before you make your decision, make sure you’re aware of how risky it is to walk away from your academics to chase whatever else it is that you are passionate about.
The phrase “stay in school” may be viewed as an overused saying said by parents to keep younger people out of trouble, but I say that this couldn’t be stressed enough. I’ve seen people with unbelievable potential that don’t have the same options as somebody who does have a high school diploma. I understand that some people may not have the same way of learning and that may be many people’s reasoning for wanting to drop out. But please, if it’s an option, stay in school.
Because the path to your dreams may very well include a high school diploma or a college degree. Or as Kanye says, “You ever wonder what it all really mean? (To find your dreams come true).”