I think I need to "recover" from my education.

UPDATE: Sorry this is so long! If you don't have time/patience to read it all, please please go to the end and comment! It's for a good cause :) We are making "The List" this weekend!


My bro graduated last year and has not figured out what he wants to do with his life. In an effort to help him figure it out - and while he is in the midst of applying to the same grad program I recently completed - my mom bought him this book called "The Element" by Ken Robinson. Apparently she heard the author speak at a local art museum and found his discussion of how people are funneled into one type of learning, at the expense of creativity, quite fascinating (she's an art teacher and into all the creative stuff).

My mom is always trying to "help" everything so I was a bit skeptical when she said I could take it home because my bro wouldn't get to it for a while. But she persisted and - as I am after all in the midst of a huge re-discovery/self-actualization/figuring-out-what-I-want-from-life period - I picked it up last night. And I. Love. It.

The author talks about success stories of people like Mick Fleetwood, Matt Groening and other famous people who did not have stellar careers in school. It took them until after school to figure out their passions and start succeeding and even excelling. My favorite line: "Most of them didn't really discover what they could do -- and who they really were -- until they'd left school and recovered from their education." Recovered from their education. Love it.

And it definitely resonates with me. It's like my "escalator" story. As I did well in school, I kept getting pushed higher and higher, but only along one track (with one destination - a tiny handful of "elite" professions) with no option to jump onto a different "alternative" path in life. This book is instilling hope in me. Hope that I can find my true passion and not "settle" for a career (just as I would never settle for a guy). Hope that I can start anew even after all my specialized schooling. Hope that I can tap into a long-hidden (and creative!?) part of myself that hopefully still is aflicker with a bit of life.

Recently I've been getting excited about the future for the first time in a while. (Probably for the first time since I was six and still wanted to be a horse trainer!) Perhaps because I finally am starting to feel free. For so long I have known almost exactly where I would end up. Suddenly, once I discovered the option, and found the courage, to look away from my "chosen" career, a whole slew of possibilities has opened. I could be a graphic designer! (Yes, I know that requires some artistic background...) I could be a writer! A landscape architect! A realtor. A social worker. And the list goes on. It's good times being me :)

The whole problem with my landlord/impending possibility of eviction is another freeing thing. I know that sounds crazy but this house has been stressful for me with this crazy landlord. If he wants to try to evict me because I reported him for violating a law, fine. I'm not going to roll over because he's just royally pissed me off, but getting out of here 5-6 months early is very freeing! So maybe I won't try too hard to keep the place ;)

This all frees me up to move somewhere else - anywhere else - in the country. The bf is about to finish his grad program and he knows exactly what he wants to do. He has known since he was like three. He just has to find the right job. So location may need to be flexible. And I'm fine with that. If I'm leaving my job, it may make it easier if I'm moving elsewhere... easier explanation when I give my notice. And I get to - and have to - figure out my new career. Exciting!

We've set an 8-hour radius from the New York area as our primary target. But we are willing to consider places ouside that range if they're extra special. For exampe, Denver may be on the list. We're obsessed with a few places, but those will remain a secret for right now :) I want to know, what are good places to live? If you had life laid out before you and could pick anywhere, would you pick where you are? Somewhere you've visited or have friends? Somewhere you used to live? I'd love to consider new places so please comment!