occupation & career .

Over the course of a lifetime it is now expected that people will change careers a multitude of times. Isn't is weird how something that was once so concrete, your single and solitary career, could suddenly become such a temporary thing? Perhaps this is the classic boredom factor -- people want to mix it up, they want new things. And if that career doesn't give them new things and new experiences and exciting experiences on a regular basis, well, then they're just going to drop it and quit.

This is not so for me.


Being that I am in architecture, I really had to know what I wanted to do from the beginning. The classes are so specific that it really makes it difficult to switch out into any other major if you start in the architecture one. We get to the point where we take all the same classes with all the same people, and the only interaction you get with the student body is through sporting events (if you have time to attend any) or perhaps in the classes necessitated by your minor. Either way, it's not much. Many have even found that they all but completely lose contact with their roommates, or as we like to say, "apartmates." It's just not easy when crunch time comes and you suddenly realize you are way farther behind on your project than you would like to be.

That being said, just because I knew what I wanted to at the beginning of college, or rather at the midpoint of high school when I started applying, that doesn't mean that I didn't run a ton of other possibilities through my mind, though. I still do that. There will always be the "what-ifs."

Some of these career opportunities were from a long time ago, others are more recent, and even more still are current. But here's the list:

I think one of the first things I wanted to be was a train engineer. I was an avid viewer of Thomas the Tank Engine, and had just about every toy relating to that that was available -- and I could name them all too. I had one of those engineer hats, and used to eat up all the stuff that my family went and saw in Strasburg or Steamtown (nearby places that had to do with trains in every aspect; look 'em up if you're curious). I would blow my wooden train whistles, and even got into model trains for a while too.

I also wanted to be a race car driver, a possibility that I'm sure my brother still dreams about as a lover of all cars, both with futuristic speed and classic appeal. We used to go and watch the quarter-midget races at the track, and while they were very loud, they were so much fun to watch -- and I envied the kids who weren't much older than me who got to fly around the track in these little things.

One far-out dream was a professional baseball player. It was the one sport I truly loved endlessly, and to be able to be paid for that one day would have been extraordinary. Over time as I became more mature and began to follow major league baseball less, I realized that I simply was not talented enough to make it there, let alone even play college ball. But I still liked the sport, and it still was a large part of growing up.

After doing a project on a man as part of black history month (the name escapes me) I wanted to become an astronaut, just like the person that I was studying. At the time I had no knowledge of what physics was and how much of it you needed to take and learn and know before you could even attempt to become an astronaut. But I still dreamed of standing on the moon, looking back at the world behind.

As those aspirations stepped down off the pedestal a bit, I thought about becoming a pilot. I loved flying and couldn't get enough of it, and I didn't mind the thought of long travel. Not to mention anytime I wanted to fly somewhere for personal reasons, I could fly for free. I did some looking into it and my parents even got me the first of many flight lessons that would get you on your way to getting your pilot's license -- but in the end it just wasn't practical. This was at that time where architecture was starting to intrigue me (or at least reveal itself to me, as I was an avid builder of various toys from the day I was born).

Today, I'm excited about the possibility of having my own individual small firm in which I work for myself and only myself. I dream of building my own home, and I dream of being able to live somewhere majestic, where I can complement my humble abode with the breathtaking landscape around it. At the same time, I'm nervous, with an unstable economy, and a giant lack of experience that I have from never being able to get an internship. I've thought about dropping out entirely, and I've thought about going straight into the air force. But I think it's really important to finish college. I want to get my class C license, so I can drive trucks all over the country at some point as a backup. It may sound lame, but I really think that would be a solid job for me. No getting tied down anywhere, just freedom, as long as that freedom leads to where your next delivery is haha.

There's a lot out there to do, and it's crazy how you really love certain things and detest others -- seems to me that everyone just sorta has to find their little niche in the world.

Lyric of the day:
"we went rollin' up the coast, 'til there was no more coast to wander"