I want to do too many things, and I am stubborn enough to find a way to complete them all. I want a degree (in what? who knows. I’ll take suggestions.). I want my cosmetology license. I want to be a flight attendant. I want to live on my own in a great city. Yada, yada, yada......
After my counselors appointment today at school I left with this strange sense of pressure, like I need to become a doctor or rocket scientist. I went in to get an “educational plan” and left with a heavy load on my shoulders, but I am not sure why. My counselor encouraged me in my academic pursuit but he also made me feel weary. I understand it’s his job to nudge all community college students onward to greater and bigger things, specifically prestigious four year universities. He wants me to properly wrap up my general education into a nifty bachelors degree, but what if that’s not what I want? How do I tell a person, especially an academic advisor, “Nah I just want to live life at the moment, but thanks for the advice.”
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I want my degree. I guess I just don’t want it in the form of a dorm life at some university for the next two years. I’d rather wrap up my education with an associates degree for the time being, head on down to cosmetology school, get my license, become a flight attendant, then take a few online courses here and there, eventually arriving at my bachelors degree in a very casual manner. All the while I will be able to enjoy life’s small pleasures (something I love). This sounds more agreeable than cramming a degree into the smallest amount of time possible and stressing myself out. I don’t see a degree as an end all, the finish line, or my purpose in life. I don’t gauge my success on a piece of paper that says I’ve completed so many units. I gauge my happiness and success on the relationships in my life with Jesus, my family, and friends. I see education as an opportunity to learn (I appreciate knowledge) and a privilege (even though I might think of it as torture sometimes). So thanks for all your help Mister Counselor Man, I am grateful, but I think I’ll take a different route; the scenic one.