Kara was one of the first people to notice my little blog and to get behind the idea. She's amazingly talented and off to explore the "big city", which if you didn't know is New York City. :) She conquers all the she does with tenacity and grace, and the reason I asked her to be part of my {counter-cultural} series is that she's trading in the idea of making the big bucks for doing BIG THINGS. I love that about her.
from her blog
A
few months ago, I was watching Capitalism:
A Love Story, the newest Michael Moore film. Now before I lose half of you,
stay with me for a minute. In the film he was talking about how students from
the top schools in the United States were pursuing careers on Wall Street
rather than in the science and medical fields. I thought it was interesting
that such a large percentage of students were doing this. Instead of the best
minds in the country seeking to find the “cure for cancer” or something, they
are looking for high-paying jobs in the financial arena.
Being
that I just graduated high school, the subject of “what are you going to do
with your life” has been brought up a lot. In my life and my friend’s and
peer’s lives, it seems to be that we are either pursuing something that we love
or pursuing something we’re not excited about, but justify because it will
pay well.
Hayley
asked me to write about being countercultural. As she put it, pursuing art and creativity, rather than
something “lucrative”. I want to preface this by saying that I’ve been
lucky enough to have a loose idea of what I want to be when I grow up. Many
people and a lot of my friends haven’t discovered that yet. Also, not all
people have the luxury of making the choice I have. People need to take care of
their families, pay off medical bills, and are required to take jobs and life
paths out of necessity.
But,
I keep going back to those students. Who, like me, have that luxury of making a
choice. I’m currently at art school and hoping to be an artist/photographer as
my job. I don’t know how many times I have second-guessed the choices that have
brought me here. I often think about how less stressful it would have been for me to go to a state school and get a
practical degree and gone the easier route. I do a lot of self-psychology and
one night after a particularly bad panic session, I asked myself something.
What is it that I want out of my life?
I
don’t want to live for the weekends. I want to be happy. I want to pay my bills
and have kids someday. I want to have meaning in my day-to-day experience. I
want to be able to take care of myself and never feel like I need a man to
support me. I want to do something
I love. I want to live in community. I want to pour myself into people, not
into a cubicle.
That’s
what I want.
I
don’t need a house right after I graduate college. I don’t need a fancy car or
even a car for a while. I don’t need Anthropologie or Betsey Johson dresses. I
don’t need a yearly bonus.
I
don’t need the false sense of security that I would place on a “career”.
Because any security not placed in God is false. My security is in Jesus Christ(well, trying to be in Jesus
Christ).
And this is the path I have chosen. It’ll be one of one sacrifice
and some failure and a lot of heartache. But, I know it will be worth it.