Thursday, February 25, 2010

They say Hindsights 20/20.... ain't it the truth!

Don't you just wish that anytime you come to a point in your life where you had to make a decision, like, a big one... like, a life altering decision, you could run out and pick up a pair of "20/20 Hindsight" glasses, that showed you where your decision would lead you in the future, and what kind of affect (effect?! this verb-age usage always stumps me!) it would have or not have of your life? They'd probably look like the headband across the eyes accessory that LeVar Burton (you know, of Reading Rainbow fame) rocks in Star Trek. Anyway, I do (as in, I do wish I had a pair of these glasses). For instance, in college, declaring my major, if I had known then, what I know now, would I have majored in History. HECK to the Naww!! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love history. love it. But, what can you do with it? I mean, really? Teach? Not in public schools, gotta have a degree in ECE for that, or at least working towards one. Nope. Basically all it's good for it Tuesday night trivia or Historical Jeopardy categories. Tudor England Government for $300 please Alan!

If, I had had a pair of those glasses, as I was sitting in my college advisers (who to my chagrin was about 5 mins. older than me, with absolutely no ability to give me advice on anything, much less a decision that would follow... haunt?.... me the rest of my life) office, where I filled out a form declaring the fact that I wanted a piece of paper to frame and hang on my wall, and little else, I probably would have gone for bigger and better things (although I was already on the 5 year plan and I probably would have declared basket weaving as my degree if I thought it would have gotten me that handshake from the dean and a walk across the stage any faster). Or at least tried to come up with some plan that would allow me to implement my devotion to History outside the walls of the great University of GA (go dawgs!).

Don't get me wrong, I know the simple fact of having a degree is important when applying for jobs, they show potential employers that you are trainable, possess relatively above average intellect, and at the very least have the ability to read and write your own name, but if you don't have a plan or desire to go along with it, it seems to simply boil down to a pretty frameable piece of art. I have slowly come to figure out things that I'm passionate about; that i love photography, i love design, i love antiques, i love wedding planning, i love children.... why couldn't I have picked a degree where I could have pursued a career in one of those fields, not that I can't now, but I don't have the background to just go out and grab a career dealing antiques, or photographing children. I am having to painstakingly teach myself, and/or pick up on things from others who are already established in those fields, which is fine, but it's putting me way behind the curve.

Don't get me wrong, I like my job (most days), and I love the fact that I have a job. But it's not my dream job by any stretch of the imagination. And I would love to one day be able to make a living doing what I LOVE to do, not just what I like. Wouldn't we all though?

Anyway, you live and you learn.

Guess that's what life is about.....


And I
do love history.

Alan: This English monarch embraced Protestantism to obtain a divorce from his wife Catherine?
Slide 23
Me: Who was King Henry VIII?


XOXO,


ASM


2 comments:

  1. Honey, my useless piece of Auburn art says Criminology - what the heck did I think I was going to do with THAT?!? Although if you went back and told me then that I would want to be a kindergarten Spanish teacher, or a yogi, or a nutritionist now that I'm almost 30, I would have laughed my fool head off! I figure college gets you the job that gets you the money (and the time spent daydreaming!) to do what you love one day. All you have to do is find it, and believe that anything is possible.


    By the way, there are 28 different types of evidence. This is the one thing I remember from college. I can't name all 28, though.

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  2. I know that you can't get a job because neither can I...atleast not a real one. Which is why I am working on my masters now because my four-year piece of UGA art is useless (but beautifully framed).

    BUT....I would never wish that I weren't a History major because if I had not majored in History, I would have never met you and we wouldn't be like peas and carrots. Things do happen for a reason, Annie boo! I love you!

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