I've been having a bit of an interesting mid-education crisis. I've been given the chance to really examine my decisions--what I want to go into, do I really want to endure the education program, what second major (or minor) should I take on that is more, as a college professor put it, more practical that I can endure and still pay the bills? The chance to which I am referring is my soon-transfer to the sunny, hot, and beautiful, Savannah, Georgia.
I've been receiving looks to this news (looks ranging from: 'why would you ever want to leave here' to 'wow, that's adventurous of you'), so I'd better quickly explain why the big cross-country move away from everything and everyone I know.
Mostly, we're going for school. Who knew that school in Georgia could be as cheap for a state university as it is to attend a community college in my home town in Minnesota? It helps that my boyfriend has been telling me about the South for so long now that I can't help but wish I could experience it, even just for a little while.
Secondly, I just need to go. Go somewhere that I haven't been before, experience a culture so unlike my own (though we are in the same country, it amazes me how different we Yanks are from our Southern friends), and just do something crazy. Not a whole lot of opportunity for crazy-ness in Northern Minnesota.
And of course, to escape the snow. We've been following the weather in Georgia through the winter. Granted, our winter has not been the typical oh-my-god-I-might-die-if-I-stand-out-here-for-more-than-two-minutes-winter, but when we hit 10 degrees, Georgia had an average temperature of 50.
So, we're going to Georgia. Southern accent and Paula Deen, here I come.
Anyway, the mid-education crisis. I've been talking to a professor at my college about my education decisions. I'm having a hard time deciding if I should go into the education program at all. This professor tells me that I don't need to if I want to teach college level students, but I will if I want to teach high school. It doesn't help that all I hear about the education programs (regardless of location) is how useless it all is. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen. I'm sure that there is something useful in those classes, but what I'd like to know most of all, is if I've chosen the right age group. I'm starting to think more and more of attempting college/university level teaching, but I'm having a hard time weighing pros and cons between that and high school. All I know is my experience in high school--that it was awesome. What I've seen in college, is that it is more hectic, less personal, but more giving with what I can and can not say--and teach. I know I want to teach, but to what age level?
Even getting away from the education side of things, I've got to figure out a second major (or a minor). That's going to depend on the university I end up at (I've been accepted to every place I've applied to throughout Georgia, so location doesn't matter), but mostly, what is considered practical? I would love to go into publishing (I think), or mass communications (maybe) or even editing (perhaps). But do I really? Are these areas in which I can find a decent job if teaching falls through? My professor even suggested something technical with writing (like programming weblogs/wikis), but I've never been very keen on the technological aspect of writing (at least enough to know how it all works). So what about business? Could I open a bookstore with that knowledge? Again, is that even practical? How much more math would I need to go into (if it involves Calculus, forget it. Sorry, Froiland)?
Too many questions, and I'm not even sure how to go about getting answers. If anyone has some answers, don't hesitate to comment.
