Well, it's finally here.
The day I never have to sit in a classroom again if I don't have the desire to.
The day I finally become free to worry about my life without the burden of letter grades on top of it.
The day I step out into the world, having learned (technically) everything I need to know about it.
Two decades. Four presidents. God knows how many 5-page papers and 500-word assignments.
All for what? My B.A. in Journalism.
It would be a lie to say that I am not proud of myself, because for all of my counter-cultural convictions, I still consider an academic degree a valid achievement; a close second to teaching oneself to play music. But despite what I have earned from my experience in college, I still don't feel like I've accomplished anything.
I feel like a failure with a college degree.
It's comforting to know that my girlfriend and my family are proud of me, and I guess that makes me proud of me. But I still only have the same amount of direction I had when I was 18. I still consider the question of what I should do with my life.
Only now is it I know that if I'm going to do anything, I had better god-damned love it because chances are good in this economy that nobody will be paid adequately for the job they do.
So my goal for now is to forget about my field of study, but only temporarily. I need to find a new way to orient myself toward the marketplace of ideas and the role of journalism in this hyper-changing, on-demand information age.
Now, it even surprises me that I am writing in my free time. If I had a class assignment due, you'd better know I wouldn't give a rat's ass about this blog. But alas, optimism abounds.
My goal is simple: devote my time to getting paid for 40 hours a week's worth of work. If it's not enough, do something else. If it is enough, make it not enough. Isn't that the correct answer, Capitalism? Please! I have to get a good grade on this!
And I guess, once those necessities have been met, my goal will be to devoting the rest of my time to securing myself in the niche I make for myself. Sleeping now in the bed I have made.
Or I could just start a punk band.
