Thursday. 1.12.12 11:55 am
�Now, what is it that you want to do with this fancy degree of yours, Jonathan?�
Placing the only water-filled glass down on the table, I turn my head away from Kells' aunt as I contemplate her question. Whilst biting the right side of my bottom lip, I look up across the table to the grizzled city prosecutor seated across from me.
�I suppose,� I begin before turning my attention back to his wife, �that I want to do good.�
She leans her body forward as if to speak, but then pauses and retreats back into her seat. With a finger pressed against the side of her chin, she looks at me with one of those thoughtful gazes. �Good,� she starts, �I believe you will� I believe you will.�
The three of us, as well as Kells, the girl who invited me to the supper, are joined
by five others: the elderly couple�s 25 year old rebellious daughter Jo and her boyfriend Hameed, Jo�s friend Yuki and Yuki�s boyfriend Samuel, a carpenter down here in Austin, Texas. Another attorney rounded out our dinner party, a friend of Kells' aunt and uncle, a.k.a. our hosts.
A recurring theme of my Fall semester involved me figuring out just what the hell I should do upon graduation.. I reckon roughly 85-90 percent of my peer students will go straight into working at a big law firm, make somewhere around 200-300 an hour (and work 60-80 hours a week) and spend their foreseeable future ensuring that the powerful corporations they represent maintain their power.
I reject such a life. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with making money; it�s just that my time is worth more to me than mere dollars. There are so many fucked up things going on in the world today for me to just turn a blind eye to and pursue capital gain above all else. As someone who recalls being fairly happy whilst living off welfare and foodstamps, eating ramen noodles and mac and cheese every night because it�s all momma could afford, I suppose I�ve got a unique perspective that many Ivy Leaguers couldn�t truly empathize with.. so, yeah.. I can do without a shitton of money. Especially if the opportunity cost is my soul.
So, in an effort to figure out just what the hell to do with my life, I�m spending my winter Trimester in Austin rather than Cambridge. I�m currently working at an anti-Capital Punishment non-profit for school credit. The work is .. depressing, but that�s another entry for another day.
How do you know if you're on the right path? Hell, how do you know if there is even a "right path" to begin with? The only thing I do know is that I don't want to be one of the thousands upon thousands of graduates who can look at the world, diagnose all the problems, and do nothing about it.
Respect.
» middaymoon on 2012-01-12 12:48:57
My business instructor made a similar point... he was asked us how much we would want to make per hour, and then after everybody answered, he pointed out that time is something we can never get back, and some people are willing to sell their lives for $20/hr...
» randomjunk on 2012-01-12 01:05:40
Be like Marshal!! An environmental (though I think the more apt word is Tort) lawyer!!
I'm selling my life for lower than $20 per hour.. but that is life and we need money to live. Until I find something else that will allow me to make money while doing some good, I shall stay here to survive till then.
Again, Happy birthday Jon!! May your next year bring you more happiness in every way.
» Nuttz on 2012-01-12 06:44:44
I think every graduates will faced problem your are facing now... I did, and do not manage it well...
RYN: nah didn't get the chance to eat them @@''
» mizutama on 2012-01-12 10:01:20
I wonder if it's better to be an INFJ. I feel like I can't get anything done the way I am.
» randomjunk on 2012-01-14 04:36:06
That's why I always thought that I should be an engineer instead of a scientist. Engineers solve problems, scientists just diagnose them. Well you're young di-di. When you're young you don't have to compromise. You can do literally anything. You can paint the life for yourself that you want. And with a Harvard law degree, every door in the universe will open before you.
» Zanzibar on 2012-01-16 04:52:48
The world isn't made of absolutes. Right and wrong are what people make of them....so the path is whatever you choose. I think that everything happens for a reason, and regardless of whether or not you feel you're on the right track, there is always purpose, whether or not you see or understand it.
» The-Muffin-Man on 2012-01-18 06:08:59
ryc: The comments on that video are TERRIBLE. The guy in the suit amuses me, but I find it interesting that speech patterns don't seem to vary among us... (I don't like the term AAVE, but maybe that is what it is...)
» ikimashokie on 2012-02-15 07:20:28
Good guesses! The answer is CHARMANDER!!!
» Zanzibar on 2012-02-16 05:02:45
HOW DARE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU » peanutmelon on 2012-02-18 01:53:36
Your blog is like the shoutbox when it's broken.
» middaymoon on 2012-02-20 02:22:13
There's an INFJ forum, I don't know if there's a chatroom though.
» randomjunk on 2012-02-20 03:33:40
I'm there right now! Houston!
Are you in Texas, too? What is this about Hawaii? Are you going back to Harvard? How much time do you have left at Harvard?
» Zanzibar on 2012-03-18 12:43:43
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