"There isn't enough time in the day!"
When I was young, I heard this phrase uttered quite often by the adults in my life. As I grow older, I'm starting to agree with it more than ever before. Not only is there not enough time in a day, but there aren't enough months in a year or years in a lifetime. Yes, it sounds cliche, but it's true.
Being in a transitional phase in my life at the age of 24, there are so many paths I can take and so many things I want to do at a given time. I'm constantly writing lists and making up hypothetical schedules for events I want to attend in the future. Unfortunately, there are only so many available days to do things (big or small) when I work 37.5 hours a week with an hour commute each way, every day. In the fall, I'll be moving in another direction when I start graduate school full-time. Despite my excitement for this adventure, it adds more to my ever-growing to-do list for this summer.
As a journalist, I understand deadlines. My career revolves around time frames. Time is inescapable, but people constantly fear time. Schedules and time frames seem to control our lives. We constantly feel like we have to take care of the smallest tasks immediately, and we allow these insignificant chores to monopolize our schedules and (eventually) our lives.
There is a lot of pressure put on young twenty-somethings to live a fun life and do things "while you are still young." Everyone seems to warn me about accomplishing things before I "settle down." When I look into my future, there are so many trips I'd like to take and so many events I'd like to attend, but working low paying jobs that offer little vacation time and trying to advance in my career in other ways tends to get in the way of all the things I'd like to do. Like me, friends of mine seem to be stuck in this rut of working, sometimes multiple jobs, and then just wanting to relax after dealing with the stress of a work day. Usually, I'm very supportive of "chillaxing" a bit during one's free time. My guilty pleasure is indulging in a large amount of television shows each week. Unfortunately, being stuck in this rut has caused all of us to be trapped in a cycle of boring routine.
I can't even begin to count the amount of times I talked to a fellow twenty-something friend of mine, and we discussed making plans to go on a road trip or a concert or sporting event. The initial excitement is always there. At that moment, there is hope for a change in our stagnant and uneventful lives. There's happiness! And then reality sets in. We look at our schedules and see that we are limited on days because our work schedules don't coincide or we have a family wedding to attend or we let the mundane chores of adulthood reek havoc on our weekly schedules. We tell each other that we'll "figure it out" and before we know it, the idea fades into the darkness. We are stuck in the routine.
We watch as our days pass us without doing anything exciting. Before we know it, a year has passed. We don't feel like anything in our lives has changed, or we don't have any experiences to share with others. We run on constant, never-ending deadlines that prevent us from doing things we'd like to do with our lives.
I fully support being responsible. Spontaneity and elaborate plans aren't always in the cards for hardworking adults. I'm realizing, though, that individuals have to force things to fit into the preset amount of time we are given. We can't control how much time we have. A day is 24 hours for each person. There are some people who make the most out of the time they have and live fascinating lives. Others allow their lives to stay stagnant without even realizing they are stuck in a cycle. Although money can influence a lot of behaviors, there are plenty of experiences we can have without spending a lot. It's important to shake things up a bit and experience new and fun adventures, regardless of age. Not having enough time should not be an excuse; we need to find a way to get things done.
Showing posts with label careers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label careers. Show all posts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Friday, May 21, 2010
Numbers vs. Experience
2.8. 3.75. 4.0.
We are constantly striving for success in numbers. From the moment we enter school, we base our progress and academic goals on numeric scores. To be accepted into highly competitive universities, some students obsess over getting the highest possible SAT scores. After students enter college, many tend to work towards making Dean's List. SAT scores and GPA's seem to be standard by which we all judge our intelligence and educational success. What ever happened to the importance of experience?
While I believe many people nowadays understand that hands-on experience teaches them lessons that the classroom may not, there is still a strange obsession with scores, grades, and numbers. After speaking to several high school juniors and seniors, one of their biggest academic fears is the idea that they may not achieve their desired SAT scores. While I am a firm believer in good grades, why do teachers and universities put so much pressure behind scores and numbers?
If high schools spent less time focusing on getting students to raise their scores and more time encouraging students to job shadow and intern at places, maybe there would be less stress for college students to determine what they want to major in. I know I changed my major after my freshman year. I don't think there is anything wrong with changing majors, but it would have been less of a hassle for me if I went into college with more "real life" experience in my field of study.
It almost comes down to two ideas: "street smarts" vs. "book smarts." "Book smarts" are vital to gain knowledge and skills; however, today's public schools seem to be focusing the "book smarts" approach without recognizing the importance of "street smarts" and experience in the work force. Gaining experience early can better prepare young people for a life-long career.
Education is supposed to mold young people and help them achieve success. In order to achieve this success, people must have some sort of talent or interest in the field or subject. How can students know what they are good at without actually trying it out? Just some food for thought.
We are constantly striving for success in numbers. From the moment we enter school, we base our progress and academic goals on numeric scores. To be accepted into highly competitive universities, some students obsess over getting the highest possible SAT scores. After students enter college, many tend to work towards making Dean's List. SAT scores and GPA's seem to be standard by which we all judge our intelligence and educational success. What ever happened to the importance of experience?
While I believe many people nowadays understand that hands-on experience teaches them lessons that the classroom may not, there is still a strange obsession with scores, grades, and numbers. After speaking to several high school juniors and seniors, one of their biggest academic fears is the idea that they may not achieve their desired SAT scores. While I am a firm believer in good grades, why do teachers and universities put so much pressure behind scores and numbers?
If high schools spent less time focusing on getting students to raise their scores and more time encouraging students to job shadow and intern at places, maybe there would be less stress for college students to determine what they want to major in. I know I changed my major after my freshman year. I don't think there is anything wrong with changing majors, but it would have been less of a hassle for me if I went into college with more "real life" experience in my field of study.
It almost comes down to two ideas: "street smarts" vs. "book smarts." "Book smarts" are vital to gain knowledge and skills; however, today's public schools seem to be focusing the "book smarts" approach without recognizing the importance of "street smarts" and experience in the work force. Gaining experience early can better prepare young people for a life-long career.
Education is supposed to mold young people and help them achieve success. In order to achieve this success, people must have some sort of talent or interest in the field or subject. How can students know what they are good at without actually trying it out? Just some food for thought.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Science/Math vs. Liberal Arts: A Never Ending Battle
I'm sitting on my computer doing my hourly checks of my favorite websites. I always start on Yahoo! because it's my homepage, and it is home to my standard e-mail account. I tend to click a lot of Yahoo!'s news stories because they interest me. One category that is particularly interesting to me are the career articles. Today's article of choice? Most Lucrative College Degrees.
The main focus of this article is the top 15 highest earning college degrees. Almost all of them have the word "engineering" in them. The rest are science or math-based. This is not surprising. They even say it's a supply & demand thing. A lot of students go into liberal arts nowadays and very few graduate with science or math-related degrees. What bothered me about this? Well, after discussing the lowest earning degrees (communications is included in this list--not that I'm surprised; I'm well aware of this.), Ed Koc, director of research at NACE, stated in this article that "few grads offer math skills, and those who can are rewarded."
I hate the phrasing of this. Here's the thing: I CAN do math very well. I passed Calculus AB & BC with A's. I understand they are talking about graduates here, but this is one of the many statements that lead to science & math majors constantly thinking they are superior to those of us in the liberal arts majors. The entire world puts these people with science & math careers up on this pedestal. It's so impressive that they chose a major in said fields. How come no one is ever impressed when I mention my degree in Communications (Public Relations) & minor in English Literature. While they are racking their brains trying to create formulas and solve problems for one class, I'm taking the course load of two areas of study.
I am in no way saying their majors are easy. I just don't appreciate the world constantly believing that these majors are "better" than those of us studying in the liberal arts fields. I, personally, chose my major because I enjoy it a lot. While money is a concern of mine, it's not my primary concern; I just want enough money to get by in life. I respect those that do see money as a primary concern. I just feel like no one appreciates those of us that follow our "dreams" or passions. In the days of energy crises, global warming, and biological warfare, very few of us liberal arts majors get any recognition.
Again, I do respect everyone who goes into these intense fields. We need people in all areas of work. Nevertheless, my hope is to one day see an article on Yahoo!'s homepage praising those of us in the communications, English, arts, and humanities fields. It sometimes feels like it's us against the world, but I am not going to let it stop me.
The main focus of this article is the top 15 highest earning college degrees. Almost all of them have the word "engineering" in them. The rest are science or math-based. This is not surprising. They even say it's a supply & demand thing. A lot of students go into liberal arts nowadays and very few graduate with science or math-related degrees. What bothered me about this? Well, after discussing the lowest earning degrees (communications is included in this list--not that I'm surprised; I'm well aware of this.), Ed Koc, director of research at NACE, stated in this article that "few grads offer math skills, and those who can are rewarded."
I hate the phrasing of this. Here's the thing: I CAN do math very well. I passed Calculus AB & BC with A's. I understand they are talking about graduates here, but this is one of the many statements that lead to science & math majors constantly thinking they are superior to those of us in the liberal arts majors. The entire world puts these people with science & math careers up on this pedestal. It's so impressive that they chose a major in said fields. How come no one is ever impressed when I mention my degree in Communications (Public Relations) & minor in English Literature. While they are racking their brains trying to create formulas and solve problems for one class, I'm taking the course load of two areas of study.
I am in no way saying their majors are easy. I just don't appreciate the world constantly believing that these majors are "better" than those of us studying in the liberal arts fields. I, personally, chose my major because I enjoy it a lot. While money is a concern of mine, it's not my primary concern; I just want enough money to get by in life. I respect those that do see money as a primary concern. I just feel like no one appreciates those of us that follow our "dreams" or passions. In the days of energy crises, global warming, and biological warfare, very few of us liberal arts majors get any recognition.
Again, I do respect everyone who goes into these intense fields. We need people in all areas of work. Nevertheless, my hope is to one day see an article on Yahoo!'s homepage praising those of us in the communications, English, arts, and humanities fields. It sometimes feels like it's us against the world, but I am not going to let it stop me.
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