What's Next?

The hubby and I felt this depression reccession brewing awhile back. We talked a lot about it and what it meant for us. At the time things were already tough dealing with reinstating the hubby's disability status & benefits, and me working a job that paid 1/2 of what I was used to. We decided then the best thing to do was to go back to school. The beauty of approaching school as a 32 year old as apposed to being an 18 year old is that you approach it from a place of practicality as apposed to a place of passion. "I'm going to be an English Major with a focus on Romanitic Literature." Not that I have a problem with schooling yourself in the things you love, but I'd be willing to bet that Starbucks coffee you bought this morning was served to you by the proud owner of an BA in English. When you're 32 and approaching school you think more about what the growing job trends are. What is going to be the field that will give me a decent paying job?

When I was a kid, my grandma used to tell me that I should go into the health care business because I had such a good heart and a caring soul. fooled ya! I remember telling her that I could never do it because the site of broken bones or massive amounts of blood make me feel faint. I wasn't too sure at the time what I wanted to do but I knew that wasn't it. Now though as I look over degrees and careers. I'm seriously thinking about it. The baby boom generation is deep in the trenches of senior citizenship and they desperately need to get their health care on.

But despite seeing the great salaries and the huge demand for things like radiologists and physical therapists. I just can't seem to check the box. I find myself gazing longingly at Web Technology Degrees and Graphic Design Programs. There is part of me that knows Grandma was right, I do have the heart for Health Care. But do I have the head? Time and Time again I've learned that in order to be successful at anything you do have to have a passion for it. If I go into Health Care the drive would come more from a need for financial security than from a need to make sick people better.

Last night, I moaned to the hubby about my dilema. He reminded me that even though times are tough, you are always most successful when you do what you truly love. That who knows what tomorrow will bring as far as the economy goes. I may not make the greatest money right away, but because I love it, because I'm passionate about it, I'll find that financial security I want for my family. Eventually.

And I realize that, maybe just maybe that Starbucks barista is currently writing the next great novel. Maybe 2 or 3 years from now they get that editor job they've wanted for so long. Or maybe they realize life wants them to go another route. But Who's to say they won't get there? That they won't find succes?

Maybe it's possible to merge passion AND practicality. My passion for web design and graphic arts is very strong. I've schooled myself above and beyond what I ever imagined possible. But the time has come to really stretch my legs really see how far I can go. Really embrace how successful I can be. The practical side is that technology is an ever growing and ever demanding field. Something even this economic downturn can't stop. I hope to find my place somewhere in the middle.

In the meantime I'm off to admissions...