Now That's Entertainment . . . Volume 5, Issue 14

On the other hand, there exists the possibility of immeasurable wealth and satisfaction. On the other hand, instead of accruing debt, you work to decrease or even eliminate your debt altogether to the point where again, every dollar you earn goes into your pocket and not back to the bank who gave you that loan. You can actually have a weekend with no worries on your mind – no upcoming midterms, no essays to write, no grades over which to stress.

This is where I sit today. As I near the end of my educational career, having sat in a classroom listening to a talking head for the past 17 or 18 years of my life – we’re talking over ¾ of my existence on Earth – perhaps I am ready to move on to the next challenge. Then again, that is a scary thought. In a way, all I’ve known the past 18 years is school. Granted, I have had my share of part-time and summer jobs, even temporary full-time positions thanks to the UBC Arts Co-op Program, so the world of work is not completely foreign to me.

Before me lies a world of opportunity. I could continue my education and pursue a graduate degree in Psychology perhaps, or law, or maybe seek an MBA (Master’s of Business Administration). I could go to the UBC School of Journalism to hone my skills as a writer, or perhaps more accurately, an investigative journalist. Sure, I’ve done archival research, filtering through literally thousands of articles in academic journals, but to get out there, ask questions, interview people, investigate a scene of some event . . . that is a different endeavour altogether.

I could just hop straight into the world of work. What job, I’m not too sure. I think that’s the scariest part, the idea that frightens me the most. After having gone through 18 years of education, what do I have to show for it? Sure, I’ll get a piece of paper or two as proof of my years and years of studies, but so what? I don’t think of myself as much of a salesperson – my first “true” sales position, I’ve only worked at for a little over a month now, at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I have a strong customer service background, but I don’t foresee a career for me in it. To get a career in writing is ambitious, difficult to attain, and is not fairly compensated in a monetary sense.

Yes, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The blinkers put on by my education will soon be removed, and as if re-birthing, I will charge headlong through the deep dark abyss, opening my eyes for the first time in a new light. Wow. The real world. What does it hold for me? What does it hold for you?


Volume 5, Issue #14 October 22, 2004 "The Light at the End of the Tunnel" On the one hand, you have the pleasures of not reading, but truly understanding and appreciating great literature; you embrace the knowledge of those before you who spent countless hours to discover for the first time what we now consider common knowledge. Of course there is a law of gravity. Of course the Earth is round. Above and beyond this, you gain the satisfaction and are enlightened by concepts and learnings that a very select few have the opportunity to gain. Not everyone can deal with, let alone understand the workings behind, for example, differential equations. Not everyone has had the chance to seek the deeper meanings in William Wordsworth’s The Prelude.	What me, worry?
On the other hand, there exists the possibility of immeasurable wealth and satisfaction. On the other hand, instead of accruing debt, you work to decrease or even eliminate your debt altogether to the point where again, every dollar you earn goes into your pocket and not back to the bank who gave you that loan. You can actually have a weekend with no worries on your mind – no upcoming midterms, no essays to write, no grades over which to stress. This is where I sit today. As I near the end of my educational career, having sat in a classroom listening to a talking head for the past 17 or 18 years of my life – we’re talking over ¾ of my existence on Earth – perhaps I am ready to move on to the next challenge. Then again, that is a scary thought. In a way, all I’ve known the past 18 years is school. Granted, I have had my share of part-time and summer jobs, even temporary full-time positions thanks to the UBC Arts Co-op Program, so the world of work is not completely foreign to me. Before me lies a world of opportunity. I could continue my education and pursue a graduate degree in Psychology perhaps, or law, or maybe seek an MBA (Master’s of Business Administration). I could go to the UBC School of Journalism to hone my skills as a writer, or perhaps more accurately, an investigative journalist. Sure, I’ve done archival research, filtering through literally thousands of articles in academic journals, but to get out there, ask questions, interview people, investigate a scene of some event . . . that is a different endeavour altogether. I could just hop straight into the world of work. What job, I’m not too sure. I think that’s the scariest part, the idea that frightens me the most. After having gone through 18 years of education, what do I have to show for it? Sure, I’ll get a piece of paper or two as proof of my years and years of studies, but so what? I don’t think of myself as much of a salesperson – my first “true” sales position, I’ve only worked at for a little over a month now, at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I have a strong customer service background, but I don’t foresee a career for me in it. To get a career in writing is ambitious, difficult to attain, and is not fairly compensated in a monetary sense. Yes, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The blinkers put on by my education will soon be removed, and as if re-birthing, I will charge headlong through the deep dark abyss, opening my eyes for the first time in a new light. Wow. The real world. What does it hold for me? What does it hold for you?