i just posted a couple of older blogs that i took from my old blogging site (http://www.makeshiftonline.net/user.php?u=jflo). going through them is great! at first i was just on there ’cause it was my friend’s site he built from scratch, and i think at the time there was a way to earn little points for things by posting new entries. but it’s awesome to read them. if you have time, go look through them. they’re funny.
anyway, tonight was another convo with my parents that i’ve had before: Jon, you’re wasting your time, go registered nursing.
Me: no, I want to do, what I want to do. I can do anything I want, as long as I focus and be determined. I have the drive to succeed in life.
‘Rents: You’re wasting your time, medical field is the way to go, economy blows, look who doesn’t have jobs.
Me: The people that don’t have jobs are the people that don’t do their jobs well and/or are financially moronic. Education is important, I know this!
‘Rents: You’re wasting your time, be a nurse, listen to us.
Me: Listening to you has gotten me to where I am today–a 23 year old that still hasn’t completed his GEs, still trying to figure out where he wants to go in life. Sure, I’m an LVN, but I wasted 2 years of my life pursuing something that ultimately makes me unhappy, isn’t credited for ANYTHING in a real college, and is really something I’ve never been interested in.
We’ve had this conversation maybe dozens of times. More probably. I finally got through to them (one of the times we had this conversation) that I am gonna choose a new major, something that I am interested in. And that I will do everything to finish it in a timely manner. They think that just because I’ve been taking classes like anatomy and physiology, that I’m already on my way to being a nurse. WRONG! I’m not even in a program yet. I have the knowledge base, but I’m not even in there yet. There are so many pathways to take with everything I’ve learned. That’s why it’s called General Education. I understand the need to be financially secure in life, but hell, there are so many damn different ways to do that.
They always explain life this way: be financially secure by being a nurse because health jobs are always in demand. This is pretty much the only way they’ve viewed the world because of their experience in the medical field. They gave me an example of one of their friends: she became a nurse when she came here from the Philippines. She saved up, opened up her own business with a convalescent home, and became rich. She diverged in to other areas with her money and became even more rich. But when the economy took a dive, she had to go back to nursing and give up her business ventures because it’s the career that is able to support her. Their point being that nursing is what is helping her survive. Okay, great. But think about this: had she not gone in to nursing, invested her time being a GREAT business savvy woman, would she not also have been rich/financially secure?
Sure, she has a different background than I do, but that’s the point. The opportunities that I have at hand here are numerous compared to the ones my parents had. I thank them so much for giving me the opportunity to be living here in California, in America. But this Filipino perspective of nursing as the only way out of being a person living under the poverty line is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S.
I remember back in high school when my American History teacher Mr. Madrid told us that he had just gotten his diploma for a Masters in Education I think. The school paid him another $10k just for having a higher degree. And this is key, my plan from when I entered college was to find something I liked, get the highest degree I could, and be financially secure. My parents don’t see it that way. Yes, I know that going the RN route can lead to other higher education degrees like M.D., but it’s just not ME. They are so sure that I’m going to fuck up my life by choosing some thing else. They have no faith in me. Thanks a lot. Is it really that difficult to be happy in life while doing what you love? That quote “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life” stuck with me. I know it’s important to be financially secure, but there are other ways to there and doing what I love.
So, what my parents want from me now, is my roadmap to my future, my goal. They want a timeframe of when I’ll be done, what I’ll be pursuing, and what I’m gonna do to get there. No problem. Gonna see a counselor on Wednesday probably, so I can see what my options are at Cypress and what I’ll have to take.
I’m freakin’ tired. Galaxy Quest is on. Just watched Small Soldiers. Time to hit the hay. Tomorrow I get to pretend I’m a drug dealer. ‘Cause you know, I pass out the meds…the drugs…etc. Ahh fuck it.
Goodnight!
