Where I'm Going

by **Eshatoh** on January 19th, 2010, 5:13 pm

Note: This is the first blog in a series of three that I have planned, which may or may not ever get finished. Also, this is the first time I've ever done anything like this, so, yay I guess.

I realize for most of you the holidays already seem to have happened forever ago. New Year's is just barely recollected and Christmas is nothing but a distant memory. For me, though, things are just now returning to normal. I'm homeschooled, so early in the school year my family took a long vacation, and I fell way behind on school. The New Year, I decided, was as good of a time as any to make that final push to catch up. I'm getting very close to reaching that goal, but in the meantime, pursuits other than school have suffered, including Mizahar. To anybody that's suffered from my lack of activity, I apologize.

Anyways, I'm in my junior year of highschool and just now beginning to look at colleges and majors and such. Consequently, I'm just now starting to feel pressure to choose at least a "goal major" and sometimes even a precise plan for how the rest of my life is going to happen. Over the holidays, I believe I was asked by five aunts and uncles, four grandparents, and more than a few cousins where my life was going. Sometimes I gave them the simple (but true) answer of "Well, I don't really know." Others I told that I would probably be a Chemical Engineer (also true). To none did I confide my real ambitions-- the true depths of my dreams-- yet for some reason I feel compelled to do that here with people I have never seen the face of. Maybe it's the sense of anonymity.

My entire life, I’ve been captivated by two things: Math and the written word. Since probably the age of ten, I’ve known that I am going to have a career in something related to one of those two things. To make matters worse, both of the things that I enjoy doing, I also excel at to some degree.

Math is and always has been easy for me. Complex concepts and problems that others struggle with have usually seemed unaccountably simple to me. Working with numbers, I’ve found is one of the best ways to quell emotions. Simple logic overwhelms the fire of the moment, and usually it enables me to look back and identify problems with dispassionate precision, so that I can change whatever it was I did to cause the emotional outbreak the next time.

Yet sometimes I don’t want to look at the world logically. Sometimes I want to wallow in those feelings of self-pity or righteous indignation. That’s when I love to either read about situations similar to my own (or sometimes completely dissimilar), or write about them. In a much different way that I couldn’t even attempt to describe, this helps my understanding, too. Writing is much harder for me than math, and I think that’s part of why I find it so interesting. It’s one of the things that really challenges me, but that I can still do a good job on.

So in the end, math (used in engineering) would be the easiest thing to make a living off of, but writing would often be so much more rewarding. The best thing I can hope for would be a hybrid of these two disciplines. A regular job in engineering by day and writing by night would be the ideal way to spend my life. For right now, this moment in time, that’s what I’m aiming for.

by **Gossamer** on January 19th, 2010, 7:18 pm

From an adult's perspective, I cannot say enough how important it is to plan your future with the ability to pay for your future in mind. If you enjoy engineering and all the math and design work it entails, I'd definitely go that route.

I once followed my heart and earned a BS in Wildlife Biology. I wanted to save the world. It was a great experience, and I worked as a biologist after college for ten years. Unfortunately I was also abysmally poor. Glory does not equal financial gain, and now I do a profession that pays fabulously and have everything I want in life for the most part.

I can't stress enough how important it is to think financially when your going to college. I listened to a heartbreaking segment on NPR about the sheer amount of college graduates that went on to earn a PHD in creative writing and or literature. For every 100 graduates, there's 5 jobs at the prof level. Which means there's a whole lot of unemployed or underemployed PHDs out there in the writing field.

Indulge what you love as a hobby... like I do my art and science. But consider employment seriously on the basis of how marketable you are... and go that route. You won't be sorry.

by **Chaelnomyl** on January 20th, 2010, 1:39 am

As a college senior who is about to apply to vet school.. I cannot stress the importance to doing what you want to do with yourself no matter how much it costs you or what you have to go through to get it, or even where. I know everyone is full of advice (myself included), but.. You gotta do what you love. Sometimes doing what you love comes at a great cost. If you wanna be an author, damn well go for it. Sure, you might end up waiting tables at Chili's while all the other wanna be authors are off in their desk jobs hating their life day in and day out, but when you get published... It'll be worth it.

My band director was probably the biggest influence in my life I can think of when it came to making choices about careers. He sat us all down when we were about to graduate and said, I want you to know something - when I started out in college I wanted to be an accountant. Accountants make a healthy paycheck and I figured that would be what made me happy in life. Money. I started those classes and then I realized I really hated accounting, so I switched to my one real love in life... Music. I graduated with a degree in music education. Sure, I make a teacher's salary now, and my wife has to work, but if my boss told me tomorrow that they couldn't afford to pay me this month, I'd still show up and teach you guys because I really love this career. So when you go out into the world there will be two types of things to do for money: careers and jobs. Jobs are temporary things you do to survive while you pursue your career. Careers are things you love enough that you would do it for free. Don't ever make a career out of your job.

Anyway. Back on to personal experience...

I'm going for veterinarian. That's my goal with school. Become a vet. I don't care where I go to school to do it, I don't care how long it takes, it is the love of my life and my heart's one desire. I can't sit at desks, I can't do manual labor, I can't do anything but love and care for animals. There are times I thought, "I'm going to be in debt up to my eyeballs." ... or, "I'm going to be almost done with my twenties when I get this degree" and "My family and friends miss me back at home". The easier thing - which I almost caved to last year - woulda been to give up and go home and become a tech for a hospital and spin blood all day with my undergrad degree. And I very well could still do that. But would I be happy? Hell no.

Picking your studies in college, the most important thing is to do whatever it is that you love to do. And if you're not sure, take an elective in what it is you think you love to do. Talk to guidance counselors. Cry on complete stranger-advisor shoulders. Take career aptitude tests. Tell your life story to the person across the desk who is getting paid to help you make choices that will determine the rest of your life. Going through your degree, you change your mind (or threaten to most often) a lot. Most people actually don't graduate with the degree they start out with as a freshmen. I've lost so many friends in my major, some of which have switched back into it this past year and told me they were dumb and realized they don't love anything but this. Its all about learning what you want to do, and you should never let money stop you from your dreams. You might say thats easy for me to say because I wanna be a veterinarian, but the amount of debt I will graduate with is still a form of money that could have stopped me if I let it. But I'll never let it do that. Why? Because I will love my job. I already do and I just volunteer and help out veterinarians. No one can put a price on being happy with yourself and what you do. Money comes, money goes. Don't let it control you.

*hugs!* I'm sure you'll have a great college experience. Sounds like you're a step ahead of everyone else (I wasn't even sure what I wanted to do until the summer before I actually got here. lol.)

by **Gillar** on January 20th, 2010, 5:15 am

I must say that some of this sounds quite familiar. I too am very good with numbers and enjoy the English language; especially writing. I would say that because of my education mixed with natural talent, I excel at both. Unfortunately, my passion was focused more on English and writing and less on the numbers. After going to college in hopes of gaining an English degree, I realized too late that there was little in the way of jobs and quality of life with pursuing such a thing. I ended up switching to a Major in Elementary School Education with a Minor in English. Now due to a combination of every college and university in the state pumping out education grads and our governor slashing the education budget by millions resulting in record lay-offs for teachers, I am not teaching but that is a different story for different times.

Where you stand out here is your professed enjoyment of numbers and skill with them. I did not discover my own talent and ability with numbers until it was too late and I already chose the path that best fit my passion. I should have gone with the skills that would better provide me with a productive, financially superior occupation than skills that only furthered my own love.

You will have people tell you to do whatever it takes to attain that which you desire most. While that is a novel idea, it is not realistic and is something best left for a good story. Does that mean that you should completely give up on that which you really want? Hell no. Just be realistic with your expectations. Having buried myself in English classes for years and experiencing the world of writing outside of high-school, I can tell you that you are about as likely to make a living off of writing as you would being a five foot tall white guy trying to become the next Michael Jordan.

You seem to be off to a great start by actually giving it all some in-depth thought. Many people that I have known in my life have done the opposite and paid the price. If you are good with numbers, capitalize on that. Get an education in a related field be it engineering or something else that relies on mathematics. Use that area as your Major and if you still want to flex your writing muscles, go for the Minor in English with a focus on Literature and Creative Writing. That way you can ensure that you will have a better opportunity for a stable job and comfortable life after school in which you can then continue with your passion for writing.

The way I have chosen to live my life these days; based on my experiences in high-school, college, and the "real-world" is to never jump off the bridge without a bungee cord. It's always fun to go with what is enjoyable but if you don't have something to tie you to reality, you will end up drowning.

by **Kavala** on January 20th, 2010, 9:41 am

It's really too bad that even doing what you love involves money. There's lots of claims out there that money isn't important, but the real truth is money is extremely important. Generally life itself involves lots of it; eating, paying a rent/mortgage, buying insurance, owning a car, etc. That is the reality of life. Money buys travel, great toys, and supports expensive habits like owning horses or getting a new computer so one can keep writing.

Keep that in mind.

No one ever has a plan to work at McD's to pay the bills... cause regardless of what you do, the bills are always there, and if you can't get a job at what you love, you will have to get a job regardless. Personally, if I had to choose between two things I loved equally, but one had a better chance of providing for a lovely home that you yourself own, the stuff you wanted (computers, cars, mp3 players, 4wheelers, clothes), and not being in debt... there's just no contest in my mind.

by **Eshatoh** on January 21st, 2010, 3:16 am

Thanks for all the advice, guys. Sometimes it is hard to choose between dreaming big and being practical. I'm just glad that at least one of the things I enjoy most can be profitable.

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