Before we lived as we do today, the land was our livelihood and our comfort. It does not surprise me that so many of us return to the land for peace, to unwind from the hectic stress of our metropolitan lives. Perhaps our moving into the mountains has provided me the peace and solitude I needed to sort out my future plans. I finally realize what I have known all along.
I've always believed that going to college would make me an expert in something. But what subject to choose required a lot of personal sorting. I had to choose wisely, because my student loan repayment depended on it! My final choice began with a complex list of interests and became a simple focus over time. It took me several years, but I've decided on a degree path that I will enjoy, and one that will offer continued opportunities for growth during my future careers.
My original list of interests looked something like this:
♥ Humanities
♥ History
♥ Writing
♥ Architectural History
♥ Music
♥ Counseling
♥ Public speaking
♥ Classic Literature
♥ Current Affairs/Politics
♥ Family History
♥ Culinary Arts
♥ Interior Design
♥ Diet & Nutrition
♥ Photography
♥ Travel
What makes my skin tingle is anything that has to do with humans and the land. I enjoy learning about human origins, uses of language, and ever evolving artistic expressions. I also enjoy seeing how nature shapes human life. How practical was it to be interested in so many things, and how would I pack all of my interests into one degree plan?
I am confident that I have chosen the right educational plan for myself based on my natural skills and interests. Instead of choosing one of the broad topics above, I decided to major in Spanish, the language of our fastest growing U.S. demographic. By the end of the major requirements, I will have studied the culture and literature of Latin America, as well as its history and its most common language. There is the human element of my degree plan. As for the land part, I have chosen a minor in Geography & Environmental Studies. It is my belief that culture does not appear out of thin air, but that it is a direct response to the environment. It's interesting to me how human culture grew to express the land where it was born.
This will be an interesting experiment for me. Never in my life did I believe that being a full-time university student was in my future, and yet it is happening just that way.
