Step back in time...
Did you ever stop to think where you were exactly a year ago?
Saturday 6/25/05: my infamous 98 degrees and rising, overly humid grad party that my stepmom spent countless hours organizing, and to which over 75 relatives and family friends attended.
Sunday 6/26/05: the big day. Donning my bright blue cap and gown, I sat in the stuffy and crowded Eastman Theatre waiting to walk across the stage, shake the hand of my principal, and receive that piece of paper that was supposedly "worth" all the time and effort I had put into the past four years.
Monday 6/27/05- Friday 8/19/05: Back to reality, which translates to hell-on-earth living at home and a boring job, sprinkled with moments of sheer joy and intellectually/ philosophically stimulating conversations with my high school friends.
And now, now I'm so confused about where I'm going with my life. High school made sense: school all day, clubs in the afternoon, work in the evening, and homework til I had to get up and start it all over again. College is different. Exactly a year ago I could tell you where I wanted to be in 10 years, what I would be doing profession-wise, and where I saw myself heading in the future. Somewhere between August and now everythings changed. No more law school, no more politics. I have no idea what I want to do with my life and the scariest part is that all the things I never saw myself doing are the things that interest me most now.
HSC perplexes me. Nearly all of the full-time employees have some sort of degree from Cornell. One of the other interns put it best: "At HSC we have the most overqualified, underpaid people in the county." I'm slowly falling for the small NGO way. Its laidback, rewarding, and reassuring that people actually do care. I'm not sure why, but this scares me. It really shouldn't, but I feel like I chose to go to Cornell because I saw it as an investment: I would get myself into oodles of debt but then get a really great job and make tons of money to pay it off. What if I get roped in by the HSC and stay there post graduation, like Liz? I'm not even sure that this would be a bad thing...
So what if I don't make tons of money? I've always put up the front that its not about the money; its all about enjoying what I do. But I wouldn't mind financial security. Debt scares me. Not being able to save for retirement scares me. But doing something I don't feel good about scares me more than any of that.
Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love. ~ David McCullough
Saturday 6/25/05: my infamous 98 degrees and rising, overly humid grad party that my stepmom spent countless hours organizing, and to which over 75 relatives and family friends attended.
Sunday 6/26/05: the big day. Donning my bright blue cap and gown, I sat in the stuffy and crowded Eastman Theatre waiting to walk across the stage, shake the hand of my principal, and receive that piece of paper that was supposedly "worth" all the time and effort I had put into the past four years.
Monday 6/27/05- Friday 8/19/05: Back to reality, which translates to hell-on-earth living at home and a boring job, sprinkled with moments of sheer joy and intellectually/ philosophically stimulating conversations with my high school friends.
And now, now I'm so confused about where I'm going with my life. High school made sense: school all day, clubs in the afternoon, work in the evening, and homework til I had to get up and start it all over again. College is different. Exactly a year ago I could tell you where I wanted to be in 10 years, what I would be doing profession-wise, and where I saw myself heading in the future. Somewhere between August and now everythings changed. No more law school, no more politics. I have no idea what I want to do with my life and the scariest part is that all the things I never saw myself doing are the things that interest me most now.
HSC perplexes me. Nearly all of the full-time employees have some sort of degree from Cornell. One of the other interns put it best: "At HSC we have the most overqualified, underpaid people in the county." I'm slowly falling for the small NGO way. Its laidback, rewarding, and reassuring that people actually do care. I'm not sure why, but this scares me. It really shouldn't, but I feel like I chose to go to Cornell because I saw it as an investment: I would get myself into oodles of debt but then get a really great job and make tons of money to pay it off. What if I get roped in by the HSC and stay there post graduation, like Liz? I'm not even sure that this would be a bad thing...
So what if I don't make tons of money? I've always put up the front that its not about the money; its all about enjoying what I do. But I wouldn't mind financial security. Debt scares me. Not being able to save for retirement scares me. But doing something I don't feel good about scares me more than any of that.
Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love. ~ David McCullough
posted by Lindsey at
5:22 PM
1 Comments:
You need the non-profit experience. You need the corporate view. You need the government view. Unless you are identity foreclosed, you cannot make a fully informed career choice. Once you have all of these experiences, you are ready for anything, or to start your own thing. How about a company that achieves the triple bottom line and makes good money, leaves little to no ecological footprint, and does something good for society. Think about it....
By
Arthur, At
6/29/2006 3:14 AM
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