Full Circle
September has brought with it a flood of memories, thanks mostly to the change of the season, and the various sights and smells that it has brought with it. Jogging around town yesterday I couldn't get last September out of my mind and all that's changed since then.
As of late, an email from my grandmother has been stuck in my mind like a smudge of superglue on the tip of one's finger after fixing a vase. I proposed to her the possibility of a second year in Korea at some point soon (maybe in March, or September of 2010) and she asked me whether that might just be "a postponement" from getting my career path sorted out.
For the record, talking about the future with my grandmmother has been extremely helpful, thought-provoking, and informative. On this one point though, I don't know. I really don't. But I can break a few things down:
I can see myself in music someday, but I don't feel ready to hit those university classroooms again. Too soon, frankly. And during my time in Korea, I've made a load of money (some of which will be saved), lost some weight and gotten a lot healthier, travelled, made a bunch of friends, learned a new culture and a bit of a new language, and met a stellar girl who makes me wonder if I won some kind of relationship lottery without knowing. If these things don't all add up to living fully and productively for a bloke my age, then I'm fresh out of ideas.
I've also got a sense of teaching. As it turns out I like children, and they seem to like me as well. I did some research, and apparently an Honours degree in Philosophy doesn't qualify me for admission into any 2-year teaching diploma program because my discipline doesn't directly translate into a high school subject. If that's not complete hogwash (like I couldn't seriously teach English or History to a bunch of 16 year olds) I don't know what is.
As for a career as an elementary teacher in Canada, I just don't think it's quite for me. I don't think I have the warmth inside me that children should receive from a teacher full-time.
In spite of it all, Grandmother's point stands not fully refuted. I don't know what my career will be. I don't know about more education. I am starting to lose faith in the usefulness of another degree of any kind, having seen dozens upon dozens of graduates with BA's and BSC's and MA's kicked out the campus door with diplomas in hand, only to fail to find careers and end up in Korea gazing emptily at the culture and jobs at a loss for how any of their years of education could possibly apply to the working life. If the gods give me a son or daughter (as this does happen unintentionally the majority of the time) I haven't the first clue how or where or into what job I'll settle - that set of decisions would have to be made on the fly.
There is, in short, a sizable list of things to do, and contingencies to prepare (or at least be mentally prepared) for. Though this list, I imagine, might only get longer as I grow older and the responsibilities pile on, especially in relative length to the number of years I have left to live.
As of late, an email from my grandmother has been stuck in my mind like a smudge of superglue on the tip of one's finger after fixing a vase. I proposed to her the possibility of a second year in Korea at some point soon (maybe in March, or September of 2010) and she asked me whether that might just be "a postponement" from getting my career path sorted out.
For the record, talking about the future with my grandmmother has been extremely helpful, thought-provoking, and informative. On this one point though, I don't know. I really don't. But I can break a few things down:
I can see myself in music someday, but I don't feel ready to hit those university classroooms again. Too soon, frankly. And during my time in Korea, I've made a load of money (some of which will be saved), lost some weight and gotten a lot healthier, travelled, made a bunch of friends, learned a new culture and a bit of a new language, and met a stellar girl who makes me wonder if I won some kind of relationship lottery without knowing. If these things don't all add up to living fully and productively for a bloke my age, then I'm fresh out of ideas.
I've also got a sense of teaching. As it turns out I like children, and they seem to like me as well. I did some research, and apparently an Honours degree in Philosophy doesn't qualify me for admission into any 2-year teaching diploma program because my discipline doesn't directly translate into a high school subject. If that's not complete hogwash (like I couldn't seriously teach English or History to a bunch of 16 year olds) I don't know what is.
As for a career as an elementary teacher in Canada, I just don't think it's quite for me. I don't think I have the warmth inside me that children should receive from a teacher full-time.
In spite of it all, Grandmother's point stands not fully refuted. I don't know what my career will be. I don't know about more education. I am starting to lose faith in the usefulness of another degree of any kind, having seen dozens upon dozens of graduates with BA's and BSC's and MA's kicked out the campus door with diplomas in hand, only to fail to find careers and end up in Korea gazing emptily at the culture and jobs at a loss for how any of their years of education could possibly apply to the working life. If the gods give me a son or daughter (as this does happen unintentionally the majority of the time) I haven't the first clue how or where or into what job I'll settle - that set of decisions would have to be made on the fly.
There is, in short, a sizable list of things to do, and contingencies to prepare (or at least be mentally prepared) for. Though this list, I imagine, might only get longer as I grow older and the responsibilities pile on, especially in relative length to the number of years I have left to live.
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