Monday, March 14, 2011

#41--Pi(e) Day & Rejuvenation

Today Alex and I bought a new washer and dryer, since our dryer basically burned itself out (taking some clothing with it that could not be repaired. :( Bummer. But the new machines will be here tomorrow afternoon, and I am glad for it.

Also today I had an interview that went very well indeed, and so I hope to hear back about that tomorrow or Wednesday. :D That hopefully will be GREAT  hours and decent pay, and of course benefits.

And today is Pi Day (3.14) which we typically celebrate around here by indulging in a meal strictly consisting of various kinds of pie. This year we were not able to have an official Pi(e) Day, so I may surprise peeps this weekend with a slew of pies. Maybe. This mainly depends on what the job situation is by this weekend for me. We shall see. 

**** In Other News ****

So lately I've been thinking. Reassessing my educational choices. What I mean is, I'm thinking about going back to school.

The thing is, I am not entirely sure *what* I want to go back to school for. I am very much interested in the human condition, helping others, psychology, history, sociology, and so forth. At the same time, I still want to be writing novels (and I am still working on my personal writing). Many things will require a master's degree, which is fine, and should only take about two years. The only thing is deciding what I want to do. I suppose this decision is not necessarily a tough one but I want to be extra sure of my goal before I even look at schools to apply to.

I've been able to help people before, and I feel like I have a talent for helping others. With as much as I love children and with so much compassion that I feel I hold for others (yes, sometimes I am quite short with people, but I think everyone is subject to that sometimes) I think that a career in social work would not be out of the question for me.

But is it what I *want* to do? I know that I am the only one that can answer this question. I want to be able to do good things with my life, and I want to be able to look back and say "I helped someone be a better person. I helped to make a difference, providing a positive experience for someone who needed a friend." I want to be able to do that in any way I can. I want to help improve the quality of life for as many people as I can manage to influence. Whether its through writing, counseling, listening, voting, writing to senators and congressmen, etc.

I suppose what I'm feeling here is a bit confused, but I want to turn that confusion into a positive energy force and ride the wave for as long as I can manage. Is that wrong of me? To want to entertain and assist, to help and comfort, to make a difference in my local and national community.

And of course there is some recognition to be had in there somewhere. And who isn't after a little piece of "fame?" But that is not my motivation for getting into this thread of ideas, for wanting to go to school again and become something better than I am now, to widen my possibilities for my future (and the future of others). And my desire to return to school is not solely based in the fact that I'm fresh from my undergraduate career and I'm missing the routine and the atmosphere (it is true, I am, but so what? I have a desire for more *education,* more **knowledge?** Ha).

I remember what my grandfather was like: He would talk to anyone and everyone that he could get to listen to him. Sure he distracted people and made them late for their original plans, or came off as the crazy old man with one eye that wouldn't shut up--but who cares? He made people laugh. He made people blush (especially me). He so enjoyed talking to people at random, people he didn't know and would never see again. For him, it wasn't about making a lifelong friend, or even remembering their name the next day (he did remember most times, but sometimes he'd forget). For Grandpa, it was about sharing an experience. Making a frowny-faced person smile a little at the hotel's continental breakfast. And no one could resist his hefty laugh.

I guess the point I'm driving at is that ultimately, I want to be like him. I want to be as congenial and friendly and open as he was. I want to love people and animals and the world they way that he loved the color of the trees in the fall, how he loved taking me to the lake to feed the geese bits of bread, how he longed for the road trips in summer and fishing just to find the fish that lived in the lake. That is the kind of person I want to be, and I think that a new path is the way to achieve that. Specifically, a path towards helping others, talking to them, and making them laugh. And at the end of the road, as I take my last breath, I want to know that I loved as much as I could. I want to wallow in the feeling that I gave love with every ounce of my being. I want to know that love that I gave will live on in someone else.

So I suppose that over the course of this post, I have determined what I want to do, and now I know where to begin. More thought will be put into this topic, and hopefully I will decide on the specific degree that will best suit what it is that I want to do with my future, to get me on the path to greater love.

1 comment:

  1. I think you should go for it. You never know until you try. If you don't like it, there a million other avenues you could go down besides social work or counseling. (From the post that's what I interpreted.) But GO FOR IT!! I don't think you will be sorry. (=

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