Existential Angst, oh woe is me
Thank you again 
tasyfa for the making-of BOBD video! I have to go find divx to watch it, but at least now I HAVE it.
Today I was quite productive. Went to speak with an academic counselor, returned the network adapter and ethernet cable to Best Buy (yay full refunds! now the wireless had just better keep working) and went grocery shopping. Have spent the past hour or two wangling over school-stuff, which I blather on about beneath the cut. ALSO the scarf I started last Wednesday is already over half-done. Yay!
And
maureen_lycaon, there's a book-rec beneath the cut that you should look into; if you don't feel like reading through my babble, just scroll down til you see your username again. :) Also, warnings for a ridiculous abundance of HTML links. I went a little crazy. Heh.
So today I went and talked to an academic advisor, like I said, mostly to look into stuff about graduation, and during the conversation I expressed a regret that I haven't gotten to take a lot of courses I had really been interested in while I'm here, because they haven't fit in with either my English major or my GEC's. He suggested I look into majoring or minoring in my areas of additional interest (Anthropology and Comparative/Religious Studies) and now I am FLAILING MADLY.
I need a lot more information before I can make an accurate assessment of what I could/should do. I'm actually much nearer graduating with my degree in English than I had realized, and what's more both Anthro and Comp Studies would be easy for me to major/minor in because I've already taken some classes in both those areas, and since they're in the College of Arts and Sciences, and I would aim for a second B.A. (or just a minor, obviously) in either of those areas, that would let me share all my general education courses and instead just focus on whatever courses were required for the major.
What this means is that depending on what (if anything) I decide to do, I could be looking at another 1 1/2 to 2 years of school from the end of this quarter to graduation. *flails* But as I'm already planning on going to graduate school (possibly after a year off, god only knows) that also influences what I should decide.
Things I'm mostly considering right now:
-Graduating with a BA in English and a double-minor in Anthropology (Cultural) and Comparative (Religious) Studies.
-Graduating with a BA in English and a BA in Comp Studies, and a minor in Anthropology. (This is actually my preference, but it would take probably the longest, which still isn't that long but...meh.)
-Graduating with a BA in English and a BA in Cultural Anthropology, and a minor in Comp Studies.
And I have to consider what I would DO with those degrees; I mean, at one point I had envisioned myself as like a museum curator or some other type of exciting job, but within the past year I have really focused myself on writing. And I love writing, and reading too, and while that doesn't necessarily preclude any other careers (it's not like they'd put a moratorium on me writing or reading off the job!) I had begun to envision myself following that particular path.
But also, I mean, I don't HAVE to take all of this in undergraduate; unless I suddenly realize I'm meant to study Angkor Wat in Cambodia or the remains of Incan civilization in the Andes, I could graduate in any of those permutations up above and go to graduate school for any of the things I'm interested in. And what's more, graduate school (from what I understand) focuses more intently on the area you're truly interested in, which for me is culture and religion and literature. (Yeah, broad. I know. *headdesks*) SO RIGHT NOW I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.
In addition I have to take things into account that go beyond the purely academic. My parents both instilled a love of learning for its own sake in me, and encouraged me to educate myself on whatever interests me. But college sure as fuck ain't cheap and I am reluctant to just volunteer my parents to help pay for probably not-strictly-necessary time at university. Not to mention that I go through these phases: Sometimes all I want to do is be a professional student for the rest of my life and never have to get a real job, and sometimes I want to scream and throw my text books out the window and demand how, exactly, it improves anyone or anything for me to know how Ralph Waldo Emerson felt about transcendentalism. Or what the cultural beliefs of the ancient Norse were. Or the exact mechanics of the Mayan long count.
And, I mean, it's not like if I don't take these courses in undergraduate, that that means I'll never be able to learn about these things. Not being a biology major hasn't prevented me from absolutely loving books like Raptor Red or Gorgon (maureen_lycaon, there's your book recs! though I'd be stunned if you hadn't read the first one already), and CLEARLY not being a music major hasn't prevented me from immersing myself in it as much as possible. I still play flute and piano, and I listen to music as much as I humanly can.
Just bears some thinking through, I guess. Best not to rush a decision like this, but I DO need to figure SOMETHING out so I know if I have to change what I'm taking for next quarter.
Now that I've made my eyes bleed from too much HTML, I think I'm going to take a brief brain-break and maybe go read the new book I picked up at the Book Loft downtown with Matt and Nicole two Sundays ago, at least til my girl gets online again. Thus far I'm quite enjoying it; it's by the same dude who wrote Wicked, which I admit I haven't read, but I want to once I've finished this one. Haven't gotten far enough to tell you whether or not I recommend it, though!
♥
tasyfa for the making-of BOBD video! I have to go find divx to watch it, but at least now I HAVE it.Today I was quite productive. Went to speak with an academic counselor, returned the network adapter and ethernet cable to Best Buy (yay full refunds! now the wireless had just better keep working) and went grocery shopping. Have spent the past hour or two wangling over school-stuff, which I blather on about beneath the cut. ALSO the scarf I started last Wednesday is already over half-done. Yay!
And
maureen_lycaon, there's a book-rec beneath the cut that you should look into; if you don't feel like reading through my babble, just scroll down til you see your username again. :) Also, warnings for a ridiculous abundance of HTML links. I went a little crazy. Heh.So today I went and talked to an academic advisor, like I said, mostly to look into stuff about graduation, and during the conversation I expressed a regret that I haven't gotten to take a lot of courses I had really been interested in while I'm here, because they haven't fit in with either my English major or my GEC's. He suggested I look into majoring or minoring in my areas of additional interest (Anthropology and Comparative/Religious Studies) and now I am FLAILING MADLY.
I need a lot more information before I can make an accurate assessment of what I could/should do. I'm actually much nearer graduating with my degree in English than I had realized, and what's more both Anthro and Comp Studies would be easy for me to major/minor in because I've already taken some classes in both those areas, and since they're in the College of Arts and Sciences, and I would aim for a second B.A. (or just a minor, obviously) in either of those areas, that would let me share all my general education courses and instead just focus on whatever courses were required for the major.
What this means is that depending on what (if anything) I decide to do, I could be looking at another 1 1/2 to 2 years of school from the end of this quarter to graduation. *flails* But as I'm already planning on going to graduate school (possibly after a year off, god only knows) that also influences what I should decide.
Things I'm mostly considering right now:
-Graduating with a BA in English and a double-minor in Anthropology (Cultural) and Comparative (Religious) Studies.
-Graduating with a BA in English and a BA in Comp Studies, and a minor in Anthropology. (This is actually my preference, but it would take probably the longest, which still isn't that long but...meh.)
-Graduating with a BA in English and a BA in Cultural Anthropology, and a minor in Comp Studies.
And I have to consider what I would DO with those degrees; I mean, at one point I had envisioned myself as like a museum curator or some other type of exciting job, but within the past year I have really focused myself on writing. And I love writing, and reading too, and while that doesn't necessarily preclude any other careers (it's not like they'd put a moratorium on me writing or reading off the job!) I had begun to envision myself following that particular path.
But also, I mean, I don't HAVE to take all of this in undergraduate; unless I suddenly realize I'm meant to study Angkor Wat in Cambodia or the remains of Incan civilization in the Andes, I could graduate in any of those permutations up above and go to graduate school for any of the things I'm interested in. And what's more, graduate school (from what I understand) focuses more intently on the area you're truly interested in, which for me is culture and religion and literature. (Yeah, broad. I know. *headdesks*) SO RIGHT NOW I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.
In addition I have to take things into account that go beyond the purely academic. My parents both instilled a love of learning for its own sake in me, and encouraged me to educate myself on whatever interests me. But college sure as fuck ain't cheap and I am reluctant to just volunteer my parents to help pay for probably not-strictly-necessary time at university. Not to mention that I go through these phases: Sometimes all I want to do is be a professional student for the rest of my life and never have to get a real job, and sometimes I want to scream and throw my text books out the window and demand how, exactly, it improves anyone or anything for me to know how Ralph Waldo Emerson felt about transcendentalism. Or what the cultural beliefs of the ancient Norse were. Or the exact mechanics of the Mayan long count.
And, I mean, it's not like if I don't take these courses in undergraduate, that that means I'll never be able to learn about these things. Not being a biology major hasn't prevented me from absolutely loving books like Raptor Red or Gorgon (
maureen_lycaon, there's your book recs! though I'd be stunned if you hadn't read the first one already), and CLEARLY not being a music major hasn't prevented me from immersing myself in it as much as possible. I still play flute and piano, and I listen to music as much as I humanly can. Just bears some thinking through, I guess. Best not to rush a decision like this, but I DO need to figure SOMETHING out so I know if I have to change what I'm taking for next quarter.
Now that I've made my eyes bleed from too much HTML, I think I'm going to take a brief brain-break and maybe go read the new book I picked up at the Book Loft downtown with Matt and Nicole two Sundays ago, at least til my girl gets online again. Thus far I'm quite enjoying it; it's by the same dude who wrote Wicked, which I admit I haven't read, but I want to once I've finished this one. Haven't gotten far enough to tell you whether or not I recommend it, though!
♥