What Am I Going to Be When I Grow Up?

Today is my thirtieth birthday...for the second year in a row. I don't particularly mind being 31, but I am frustrated by the fact that by all accounts, I am "all grown up," yet I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up!

People regularly ask me, "What are you going to do with your degree" and I usually answer them, "I'm going to frame it and hang it on my wall." Honestly--that is the extent of my plans right now.

I'd like to have some plans, but I am partially hindered by my geographic location; some of the things I'd like to do are not available in my corner of the world. I could continue on the path of self-employment and do plenty of freelance work, but I have come to the conclusion that I work much more effectively under some sort of structure, unfortunately.

It doesn't give me any peace knowing that my father, who has a successful career in the corporate world of agriculture, still ponders what he will be when he grows up, too.

*sigh*

Maybe the best thing to do is to quit thinking about it and eat some chocolate instead. Chocolate..yes, THAT'S the answer! :)

SPRING BREAK

This week has been Spring Break and, though I can't say I have been overly worked at school this semester, I was looking forward to a week at home to catch up on regular, everyday, non-school things. And I even managed to work in a few fun things for myself! For instance, did you know that it can actually be fun and enjoyable to read when it's not required reading? It's true. The sad thing is that I enjoy it so much, I have three books that I have started. I have GOT to break my multi-tasking addiction!

Theatre & Other Weirdness

So, I'm in an introductory theatre class. I decided to take an online class rather than traditional class because...well, I was afraid of a real, live theatre class. I'm not all that passionate about theatre, but most theatre professors are.

But I digress.

I opted for the online class which has been equally strange and confusing at times. "Strange" comes in the form of online discussions (I'll admit it--it's just hard trying to "get into" an online discussion that you just aren't real excited about). "Confusing" comes in the form of a teacher who feels that we should take charge of our own education and lead out in discussions and answer our own questions. Still, I don't have to worry about actually having to act in class (as I heard the traditional class last semester had to do), so all is well.

While I said I'm not passionate about theatre, I do love a good play. In fact, the one really good thing about the class is that it is forcing me to go to live productions. I have to see three this semester (the bad thing--two HAVE to be from the school where I'm taking the class; can't just pick and choose).

I attended my first production last weekend and it was okay. It was basically an interpretation of Hitler's rise to power as represented by a bunch of gangsters from the '30s. I found my poor, poor attention span wandering aimlessly during the second act. Cursed attention span! When did you leave me? (Or did I ever have one?)

What was I saying? Oh yeah...attention spans and theatre.

So, it's good to have a reason to HAVE to go to the theatre and since I do get to see one of my own choosing, I think I'll start shopping around. I never thought my husband would like theatre, but he accompanied me to a "Shakespeare in the Park" production when we lived in the city, and he actually enjoyed it! Then, my girls have recently been involved in a theatrical production at their school, so they are excited to go. Sounds like a family roadtrip ahead!

No News Is Good News, Right?

So, I haven't really had much to report this semester. I rarely ever feel like I am actually taking 15 hours because my workload is very light (lecture-heavy). However, I do still spend a great deal of my time worrying about the end of the semester....like the floodgates will open and I will be swept away in a rush of work or something.

But we all know that 98% of the things we worry about never happen. Here's to hoping!

S-L-O-W

I am just amazed at how s-l-o-w things have been for me so far this semester. Every week, I keep thinking that I'm suddenly going to be overloaded, but so far, it hasn't happened! I guess I'm just comparing to last semester which was KILLER!

Something Nice to Hang On My Wall

Yesterday was one of those days: why am I doing this, what is the benefit in getting my degree, am I even going to use this thing, and so on.....

The reality is, my degree will probably end up being no more than standard wall decor for me. I'll probably end up in the scores of people who got a degree in a certain field only never to use it. Yay. What an encouraging thought.

Let's face the facts: I live in a rural area; there's not much demand in the field of mass communications. Even if I did work within my field, I would only be making peanuts...which is what I make now with my small business except I get to work when and where I want.

So, to answer the nagging questions in my head:

1. Why am I doing this? Because I always said I would. Because a half-finished degree would always linger over my head. Because I don't want to feel like a college drop-out loser. Because I want my kids to know that education is important.

2. What's the benefit in getting my degree? Because you can't even bring in carts at Wal-Mart anymore without a degree of some sort. Seriously, when is the last time you saw a classified ad that doesn't say something about "college degree required/preferred?"

3. Will I ever use this thing? We'll see...but in the meantime, I can "wow" everyone with my mad Adobe In-Design skills or conflict resolution abilities. {lol}

Dead Week...So Soon?

This week has felt so weird. Here we are, back in the swing of thing school-wise, yet I have no homework, no reading...pretty much nothing to do! Not that I'm complaining!!! My history course is pretty much all lecture and tests which I LOVE. I do have my independent projects in hand now as well as assignments for the newspaper, so I have a feeling that my dead week days will soon be over.