Show of hands - who reading this is taking time off in between scholastic endeavours?
Second show of hands - how many people act like you are throwing it all away when you tell them you are taking time off?
Oh oh oh! Have you had people that barely know you tell you that you will never go back?
Do they spit out random factoids that you have never even heard of or know where they have come from and what evidence actually supports them? Perhaps you have had someone just randomly spit out at you that "oh...well you know, 50 per cent of those who take time off never end up going back" - the implied parting of knowledge being that you have a 50/50 chance of continuing academics, and generally the undertone being that you are on the side which will never return, presumably because you get so comfortable with whatever the hell it is you are doing in your "time off".
My personal favourite is the individual imparting this "knowledge" yet they have no idea who you really are, what you are interested in, and what your plans are, yet act superior in the fact that they have you figured out to a "t" because you are one of those people - those people that take time off to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Heaven forbid we don't have our lives planned out from start to finish in some crazy flowchart!
My least favourite - the parents who consistantly ask you what you are planning on doing, when you need your reference letters, who you need to speak with, where you need to apply, what you are applying for, when you need to apply, what it will help you achieve or where it will take you, and how it will lead you to some career you will be happy with and secure in. Again...I reference the life flowchart. (I recognize the actual concern and love behind parental nagging of the sort...however one can only tolerate so much of it before they snap).
Question! Taking time off - be it a week, a month, a year, or even the time it takes to brush you're teeth - Am I wrong in thinking that we can legitimately use that time to hash out what it is exactly that we would like to pursue next? Why is there this push to constantly have an understanding of our future?
Questions...comments...thoughts?
My personal favorite is when people condescend and shit all over you for not immediately finding a pro career in the field you went for. Economy and debt be damned, the second you're done you should have hauled a job out of your ass and be out on your own.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter if they're not doing any better themselves, or if they even bothered going to school. Hell, some haven't even finished high school, even though they'll hand you a years worth of credits just for going to work now. They're specialists in things like this, and you should heed their sagely yet undermining advice. But hey, at least it's better job advice than about how I should be a basketball playing wrestler football star who fights evil on the moon.
Ok, I made that last one up... I should totally be a crime fighting astronaut. Do they have courses for that?
No...but I think there is this guy...god what is his name again...Oh yeah! Superman! Maybe get ahold of him? I am sure he could give you some pointers on what to pursue.
ReplyDeleteBest rant, ever. Hands down.
ReplyDeleteI mean that...there is nothing on this earth that irritates me more atm (okay, there's a few things, but allow me to hyperbolize) than people being on my back about having my shit figured out.
Ya know what? Until I ask you to pay back my debt, you can gtfo and leave me do whatever it is I need to do.
And if I find a job that makes me happy and it's not in my undergrad field, and I DON'T go back to school, I hope y'all cram your comments in your ears sideways. And eat sand. Because neither of those sound pleasant.
*End comment rant*
Loves ya!