Here I Go...

[impulsenine]

It's true that money can't buy happiness, but having enough of it eliminates many causes of sorrow.

(Dunno if this is a reply to my post but...) You really do gotta find a way to make a living with whatever degree you get.

Also, GJ posted this on Facebook and it just seems utterly appropriate.



Does this video strongly remind anyone else of Aginor?

[Cruel]

It's true that money can't buy happiness, but having enough of it eliminates many causes of sorrow.

Money can't provide meaning to your existence. Money should only be the means to an end, and you should try not to define your life with a major, but let the major define your actions while you define your life. You will know and love what ever it is that you choose. I know already that life is not going to be easy for me. By Nova's own words I will have many sorrows. The things that I enjoy are not conducive of a fiscally sound end. I enjoy writing, I enjoy reading, I love helping others. Those things aren't free. Reading is a leisure for those that have time to spare, and that's only an occasion for those with well enough means. Read while you can, it passes. Television is a drug. Writing is good for self reflection, there is little money in it. To actually pull money out of a hobby like this would require that you write something popular, it's not for a counter personality. There is little fun in demurity. Helping others is a thing of altruism. I don't know what you plan to do, but I urge you not to choose the easiest lot in life. There is no fun in that, no assignment of meaning. Undergrad stuff is easy my friend, you'll do well enough, but think about it for a long while before actually making any decision. You're writing a check that someone will want to cash 20 years from now.

[Aguacenta]

As for "picking something you like" versus "picking something you love", there's nothing saying you can't do both. You can always double major or minor in something you love. It's nice to have a fall back. Pick something that doesn't make you miserable, because you'll likely be doing it for a long time. I know Bio-Chemists who did the degree because they were promised a pay check at the end, but absolutely hate what they do. I also know philosophers who extolled the virtues of the versatility and intellectual prowess of their degree and are now working in retail and are also miserable and wish the did something else (holy cow run on sentence). Luckily I was drawn to something that has good economic potential and that I love. On the other hand, I opted to get a graduate degree, which means I can barely afford my rent, groceries, and insurance, and down the line will probably make less money, instead of accepting a job that made $52k a year right out of school.

That being said, I think it's perfectly alright to pick a path that is not as rewarding financially or that requires more effort, but you need to make an informed decision. Don't think that your degree in Art is going to make you piles of cash and don't think that your "hard science" degree is going to end your life's woahs. Be aware of the choice you are making and be sure you can live with the outcome. Because, you will definitely have to live with the outcome.

On another semi-related note. Many undergraduate degrees seem interesting and it seems like you can do cool things with them. However, what they don't tell you when you get started is that to get many of the jobs that people think are cool, you're going to need advanced training. This means you're going to need a Master's or a PhD. Want to become a Psychologist? Congratulations! you're now looking at an undergraduate degree, a masters, a PhD, some sort of field training, and a supervised practice grand total in time 11-15 years. Want to work on cool physics projects at CERN or something similar? You're going to need undergrad and a Phd (8-10 years). It's a long time and a big commitment. Be sure you're ready for it.

Furthermore, a lot of the jobs people think are cool that you can get with specific degrees are extremely rare or hard to get in to. Want to go into International Relations because you want to travel the world / become a diplomat? Good luck. There are ~10,000 people employed by the Foreign Service Office and only a small percentage of these are actually what people would think of as diplomats. Want to go into Astronomy? There's less than 100 new openings in the field every year. So, if you're going for a degree because you want to get into a specific career, do some research, and be realistic about your odds.

I realize a lot of what I said can seem disheartening or seem discouraging, but that's not how I've meant it. It's important to be realistic and understand how things actually are instead of going in half blind. That doesn't mean you should give up your dreams. If it's your life long dream to do something, shoot for it. But, realize you're going to have to put in the time, the work, and the effort and you're still not guaranteed to succeed. You shouldn't be afraid to do it, and you should be afraid to fail. You should be afraid to say "I wasn't sure I was going to get there so I didn't even bother trying", because that's something you'll really come to regret.

[A.C.E]

If you feel the need to double-wrap for certain women, you probably shouldn't be sleeping with them in the first place...

A message from Don Juan, himself