Welcome/Intro/College/Life/Vocation

I was sitting in class the other day thinking about the plethora of thoughts and philosophies I have floating in my head. And I came to the conclusion that these things usually exist either as some small unnoticed action or just stroll happily in the bustle of my brain. And this conclusion lead me to the conclusion that I could make these things accessible both to future Pierce and present people who have any interest in peeking into my brain. Consequently I'm creating this blog of things I find interesting, things I'm pondering, or anything else that I'm trying to make sense of; this will not necessarily be a blog about my day to day life. If this blog has a thesis, it's that last sentence. So I'll be writing on here from time to time when the mood strikes (I just used two idioms back to back....deal with it). And I don't want anyone to feel any obligation to reading this blog as it seems is often the case. If it interests you and you read it, that's great, if not that's equally fine too. Both for my own and your sake I'll try to keep my entries concise.

Now for the first entry.

Topic of today: College

I've recently become a victim of what I'm calling "mid-college crisis." This disease consists of a variety of symptoms including: lack of interest in current classwork, lack of motivation in said courses, and a general feeling of "Why am I here again?" The first two have mainly been a result of required courses, but the third one is hitting me harder than ever before. Why AM I here if I don't want a profession in the thing I'm studying? It's been feeling like such a restrictive space rather than the door-opening label I've always attached to it. There're so many things I want to do and getting a piece of paper saying I'm certified to do this or that is not high on my list...my bucket list as Morgan Freeman might call it. That's not to say I think college is a waste of time. It's a great experience and learning is always valuable. But I want to do more than analyze literature (which I've done since 6th grade) and memorize what, to me, is often useless information. I want to DO. To CREATE. To MAKE. I can do that in some courses; I see learning a language and creative writing in this light, but I still have to wade through the rest of my classes to get to these.

We all have those classes we deal wit, but I think a majority are studying the thing they know, or at least think they know, they want to be "when they grow up." So they get through these with that promise of a steady job. It's a valid goal to get that degree and get a job and there's nothing wrong with that. But I find myself perhaps part of a minority that doesn't want a job but a VOCATION (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vocation). And so I'm going to finish college and have that degree because the experience is worthwhile, but I'm not going to let my degree tell me what I'm going to "be". I've always seen that question as poor reinforcement: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" As though your job determines what you are. I'm going to find what comes naturally--what I love--and BE and do that. And I'll find a way for that thing to make money and I'll be successful. It's not a question of "I might" or "hopefully" but I WILL because it's my only life and I'm going to enjoy it as much as possible. So despite the tribulations of what can feel like a waste of time, I'll enjoy college while I'm here and grow and learn and pursue my current inspiration: baking. I want to be a baker. I'll pick up that topic next time I sit down to write. Hope someone found something of interest in this first entry. At the very least It was helpful to me, so whatever :). Until next time, ciao!