I went to my school's website and printed off a list with every available major on it. I went through every. single. major. and crossed out one by one those that held no appeal for me. I ended up with my current major. (English.) And one I've been secretly considering. (Journalism.)
And then I started freaking out. big time. because those majors aren't "safe" majors. Earlier this year I decided I wanted to be a high school English teacher. That way I could have a job with holidays and weekends and summers off, all the while being able to work with literature and writing. (Aka: my favorite subjects.) (Oh. And notice how safe that career would be?)
But as of late I've started dangerously dreaming about life as a writer (but what kind of writer?) in the city.
Not some tiny Midwestern city. I want the bright lights of New York or Boston or hell even Chicago would do. (Oops. There's my damn potty mouth again.) The problem with this BIG DREAM of mine is pretty evident to me though.
I've never really spent time in a big city. I mean I went to Chicago for a band trip in high school, (yep. i was a band geek among other things. i played clarinet.) but that was a very touristy trip and years ago. I have no idea if I'm meant for city life. And frankly, I'm scared to find out.
My friend Ashley and I were having a discussion about this yesterday as well, and she kept encouraging me to suck it up and give journalism a try.
"You could live in New York," she said.
"We'll see," I said.
"You can't just 'we'll see' your dreams."
But I am.
At least for now. Unfortunately I've somehow managed to let fear get a hold of me.
And for now, it's winning this battle.
Always,
L.A.
Benjamin from We Bought a Zoo said, "You know, all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it." So my advice to you is to take those twenty seconds, overcome your fear, and follow your dream. You won't regret it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful quote! I must tell you the idea of saying to hell with it all and just going for it is growing on me. Thank you so much for taking the time to share that advice with me! It means a lot to me.
DeleteI totally agree with Anon, that was a great quote from that movie!
ReplyDeleteI thought about being an teacher too, because I was so sad at the thought of never having such awesome holidays ever again (plus I love teaching and helping others), but at the end of the day I knew that I wouldn't really be happy being a teacher.
Life is too short to be safe. Do what you LOVE because it will make you HAPPY and then you won't ever have to work a day in your life, because you will love what you do. The beauty of writing, is that there are so many different kinds of writing you can do, and it's something you don't have to do full time if you can't figure out which writing full time option is for you.
The best part is that I've been through college/uni, and I wish someone had told me then what I am telling you now. YOU HAVE TIME. Nobody seriously cares if you finish your degree in the allotted three or four years it's supposed to take (here in Australia anyway). I don't know how American uni/college works with majors (we don't have them here really), but I think you should take a journalism subject and see if it interests you! Worst case scenario is you don't like it and you need to swap again. Maybe you will find something better to do that you might not have thought of if you never study it. Swap it around. Do a subject that interests you, because it looks really good on your resume, gives you something that stands out from the crowd :)
Don't worry about what other people might think of it. Your life, not there's.
Good luck!
Goodness do we have a lot in common!
DeleteI initially went in to college thinking I wanted to be a doctor because I genuinely love and care about people, and when I realized I wanted to incorporate my love for literature into my future career I immediately thought of teaching. I'm fairly certain I will try and write for my university's paper this fall, and if I end up not liking it, well on to the next thing. :)
You're right though about me having plenty of time to figure everything out. It's just so hard to remember when one starts thinking of the future and the impact every decision will have. Ooftah. Talk about overwhelming.
Thank you so very much for taking the time to leave that bit of wisdom for me! It's wonderful to know that I have an Aussie friend in you.