*FLUFF*
WHY WHY WHY are Artist-Scientists a "bygone profession"??! Can you believe there was a career where people would go out into the world and just DRAW BIRDS? Why couldn't that be me? ;_;
Anyways, the point of this post is a small explanation of my quarter-life/mid-college crisis. You see, following my most excellent trip to London, I realized that I had lost that spark for Interior Design. Yes, it was there once... I just am no longer interested in it. (I know this happens to a lot of people in college, I'm just really disappointed that it had to happen so late for me)
So what DO I want to do? Ornithology, clearly. I know I should have been more honest with myself earlier in life, but I think it took my trip to London to really knock the concept into me. I should - no I WANT - to study birds.
Why I didn't choose this career path before: Easy, I was afraid of the bureaucracy of science. Waiting for grants, writing "publishable" papers, etc. But now I realize that there is bureaucracy in ANY career, and the benefits of studying something I'm passionate about outweigh that original disinclination.
So now I'm at a crossroads where I don't know where to go or what to do. I'm in contact with my advisor and starting to plan things out, beginning with getting a Biology degree along with the ID degree.
Major vs. Minor - IF the department will let me waive the introductory courses (which equal IB Biology, pretty much) then I have room for the minor no problem. However, that doesn't set me up for a very successful future. Only problem is, I don't have room to complete the major unless they make some drastic adjustments to the requirements OR I drop Interior Design completely. I don't really want to drop Interior Design, because getting out of college with SOME degree is better than nothing. I don't want to hate myself a few years down the road because I didn't follow my true passion.
But then again, there's always the fear: Is this a passing fad? Will I lose my love for Ornithology the same way I lost my love for Interior Design? Considering I have loved birds longer, more passionately, and more consistently than I loved Interior Design, the only measurable indicators would say "No." But it's still something to consider. And probably only something I'll know once I get experience in both Interior Design and start taking some Bio courses.
So here's what I'm thinking right now: Complete the July internship in Oklahoma, see how I feel after that. If - at that point - Interior Design is something that I could pursue for a year or two until I can finish the Bio degree, then I'll just get the minor at GW. However, if after the internship I still feel no love for ID, then I MIGHT drop the major altogether and finish the Bio major in one year (it is possible... with much death and dying involved). But the double major is still the best, most well-rounded option at this point.
And then there's Dad's entirely valid question, how much of this was influenced by Stan? It's a good point. Stan changed his major his senior year, and still managed to get both an Econ and a Geology degree. And it's very true that I am suffering from an amount of "career envy". Stan is outside climbing mountains, rappelling down cliffs, and riding ATVs around the forest. It's really made me think "I want to do that! Why can't I do that with my career?" Clearly not an option with Interior Design. So I think, deep down, I have to ask myself - Would I be doing this now if I weren't dating Stan? Answer: Probably not. But, more likely, I would be hating my job 5/10 years down the road and wishing that I had become an Ornithologist all along. Dating Stan and seeing how passionate he is about Geology has been an indicator. I have always said "Stan has rocks, I have birds." But you see, Stan has a degree in his rocks, why the hell am I not getting a degree in my birds?! It's really made me think, and short of the answer I gave above, I can't come up with a good reason why not.
So yes, Stan has had a terrifyingly large influence on this career shift (I say terrifying because it scares me to be so influenced by another person, and also because, as a very competitive person - it scares me to admit that it might boil down to a competition over who's doing more epic things with their life). But I think in this case it was an auspicious/fortunate/life-saving influence. Without it I might be stuck in a dead-end profession that I lost my love for.
Ultimately I have two loves: birds and graphics. These are two time-tested passions of mine, and now, after London, I know that these are the two things which I must rely on for my future career. Graphics is always a good backup, but it doesn't provide me with the excitement, passion, and outdoor adventure that birds do. So Ornithology has the appeal.
But (full circle) why oh why is there no longer a need for artists to draw birds? *siiiiigh* Stupid National Geographic photographers *mutter*
I know Evan [[EVAN LET ME COMMENT ON YOUR POSTS SO I CAN TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LIKE THE IDEA OF YOU BEING A VIDEO GAME COMPOSER (so you and Gabe can make babie- I mean, video games)]] is having that future-career-crisis thing as well.
So, in the line of his post... Thoughts?
Anyways, the point of this post is a small explanation of my quarter-life/mid-college crisis. You see, following my most excellent trip to London, I realized that I had lost that spark for Interior Design. Yes, it was there once... I just am no longer interested in it. (I know this happens to a lot of people in college, I'm just really disappointed that it had to happen so late for me)
So what DO I want to do? Ornithology, clearly. I know I should have been more honest with myself earlier in life, but I think it took my trip to London to really knock the concept into me. I should - no I WANT - to study birds.
Why I didn't choose this career path before: Easy, I was afraid of the bureaucracy of science. Waiting for grants, writing "publishable" papers, etc. But now I realize that there is bureaucracy in ANY career, and the benefits of studying something I'm passionate about outweigh that original disinclination.
So now I'm at a crossroads where I don't know where to go or what to do. I'm in contact with my advisor and starting to plan things out, beginning with getting a Biology degree along with the ID degree.
Major vs. Minor - IF the department will let me waive the introductory courses (which equal IB Biology, pretty much) then I have room for the minor no problem. However, that doesn't set me up for a very successful future. Only problem is, I don't have room to complete the major unless they make some drastic adjustments to the requirements OR I drop Interior Design completely. I don't really want to drop Interior Design, because getting out of college with SOME degree is better than nothing. I don't want to hate myself a few years down the road because I didn't follow my true passion.
But then again, there's always the fear: Is this a passing fad? Will I lose my love for Ornithology the same way I lost my love for Interior Design? Considering I have loved birds longer, more passionately, and more consistently than I loved Interior Design, the only measurable indicators would say "No." But it's still something to consider. And probably only something I'll know once I get experience in both Interior Design and start taking some Bio courses.
So here's what I'm thinking right now: Complete the July internship in Oklahoma, see how I feel after that. If - at that point - Interior Design is something that I could pursue for a year or two until I can finish the Bio degree, then I'll just get the minor at GW. However, if after the internship I still feel no love for ID, then I MIGHT drop the major altogether and finish the Bio major in one year (it is possible... with much death and dying involved). But the double major is still the best, most well-rounded option at this point.
And then there's Dad's entirely valid question, how much of this was influenced by Stan? It's a good point. Stan changed his major his senior year, and still managed to get both an Econ and a Geology degree. And it's very true that I am suffering from an amount of "career envy". Stan is outside climbing mountains, rappelling down cliffs, and riding ATVs around the forest. It's really made me think "I want to do that! Why can't I do that with my career?" Clearly not an option with Interior Design. So I think, deep down, I have to ask myself - Would I be doing this now if I weren't dating Stan? Answer: Probably not. But, more likely, I would be hating my job 5/10 years down the road and wishing that I had become an Ornithologist all along. Dating Stan and seeing how passionate he is about Geology has been an indicator. I have always said "Stan has rocks, I have birds." But you see, Stan has a degree in his rocks, why the hell am I not getting a degree in my birds?! It's really made me think, and short of the answer I gave above, I can't come up with a good reason why not.
So yes, Stan has had a terrifyingly large influence on this career shift (I say terrifying because it scares me to be so influenced by another person, and also because, as a very competitive person - it scares me to admit that it might boil down to a competition over who's doing more epic things with their life). But I think in this case it was an auspicious/fortunate/life-saving influence. Without it I might be stuck in a dead-end profession that I lost my love for.
Ultimately I have two loves: birds and graphics. These are two time-tested passions of mine, and now, after London, I know that these are the two things which I must rely on for my future career. Graphics is always a good backup, but it doesn't provide me with the excitement, passion, and outdoor adventure that birds do. So Ornithology has the appeal.
But (full circle) why oh why is there no longer a need for artists to draw birds? *siiiiigh* Stupid National Geographic photographers *mutter*
I know Evan [[EVAN LET ME COMMENT ON YOUR POSTS SO I CAN TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LIKE THE IDEA OF YOU BEING A VIDEO GAME COMPOSER (so you and Gabe can make babie- I mean, video games)]] is having that future-career-crisis thing as well.
So, in the line of his post... Thoughts?