I thought it would be fun to offer up some of the lessons I have learned along the way. Graduation is only a month away, so there is only 4 short weeks or about 20 school days left till graduates have to say goodbye to their high school forever. I remember when I crossed the graduation stage, diploma in hand and having the words of Dr. Seuss “Oh the Places You’ll Go” read like a euglogy stuck in my head. Graduating from high school is a BIG freaking deal! But so is going to college. So my lesson for today is going to be about picking your major.
When I was applying to colleges, my dad wanted the best for me. He wanted to me to go to USC and become a business major. He wanted me to make super good connections and be richer than he is. It was all going according to plan, until I went to Portfolio Day at a local Los Angeles art school. I realized there wasn’t a bone in my body that wanted to study business, but my real passions were in photography and art. So amongst the college applications, I also put together a portfolio and applied to UCLA’s art school. I thought it would give me the distinctive edge to help me get into this insanely hard to get into school and then I would just switch my major to business. My dad bought this plan.
Well then I went backpacking thru Europe with my five best friends in the world for 6 weeks. We went to a museum every day and I took a bajillion photos on my Minolta X700. It was that summer that put my desires to be an artist etched in stone. I didn’t want to go to business school, I wanted to study the great artists of the past and have their work inspire me to make my own creations. And then I found out that it was a big freaking deal to get into UCLA’s prestigious art school. I decided to give it a try. My parents still supported me, but always thought, what is this girl going to do as an art major. Four years later, I LOVED every second of it and seriously had the most amazing college experience ever!
The ironic thing is, when I graduated from UCLA, I took the first job that came to me. I worked for a stock brokerage firm for 2 years and hated every second of it! After my first year, I realized I wanted to inspire kids to find their own creative spirits and connect with something that is important. I wanted to give life to these students that are just going thru the motions. Shake them up! And no, I am not one of those teachers that didn’t find success in their own art and then decided to teach. It’s actually the other way around; my kids inspire me every day to make art and lots of it! I have always been a working artist.
I am about to go into my tenth year of teaching; oh Lord have mercy! And I still LOVE it! Look at what one of my students made today, while we were doing long exposures in the darkroom. I love my life! So the lesson here is, study what you want to and fall in love with learning.
Sometimes we have to follow our hearts on the college route … while I’ll probably never use my finance degree in that field, I don’t regret switching to that major mid-freshman year. The practical knowledge I got from it has helped me with both my business and personal finances. I do sometimes wish I’d listened to my gut and went back for a graphic design associates degree after undergrad.
When asked, I always tell high schoolers, if the thought of business professional dress or uniforms for the next 30-40 years of your life doesn’t appeal to you, pick a field that fits the wardrobe you won’t dread buying. That said, I should be an elementary school p.e. teacher 😉
I love this post Amber! I wish I could have pursued the arts more in high school and into college. I still got to dabble with graphic design for my major, but photography and painting and drawing? Not so much. I’m glad you stuck with your passion — look how it’s paid off!
Wonderful sentiment!
I tell my father all the time I don’t want to study business. Why would I when I am having a blast in sociology class! Educations is a gift and a choice, one that can be fun!
And You are in a fantastic position to be preaching this =)