. Page 7 The Lion's Eye November 11, » 2000 a Eye. on Editorials 3 PAIR OF PENNIES “What are you gonna to do with that?” By daniel j. taylor — Lion's Eye Editor djt5036@psu.edu I find that conversations between college stu- dents and “real-worlders” are typically pretty boring. Apparently working 9-5 turns em- ployees into clones, because these full-time working machines only ever say the same, repetitive thing... Boring adult: So where do you go to school? Me: Penn State. Boring adult: HAPPY VALLEY! Me: No, the local campus, on 352. Boring adult: Oh. Well...uh, what’s your major? Me: American Studies--it’s pretty cool. Re- ally broad and I can take a lot of classes I like. Boring adult: What are you gonna do with that? That last question is more awful to me than smog is to Los Angeles. Again and again people want to know “what I'm going to do” with my major. They want to know what kind of job an American Studies degree will enable me to secure. They want to know how quickly I am going to settle in to some lame cubicle because they assume that, like them, I want to rot there for 50 years and then retire. I am not much of a planner. When I ap- plied to this university I had goals of leaving with a Civil Engineering degree and design- ing bridges, but that was too rigid so the day after orientation I came back and switched my intended major to Undecided. A few semesters later, I fell into a class with Dr. Cimbala and he was a great professor who really made his material fascinating--so I decided to become a Political Science major. That was fun and interesting, but eventually I realized that it, too, was pretty strict and not really for me, so I rekindled my love affair with Undecided. By this point I had compiled a pretty wide selection of classes, from Classical Mythol- ogy to Calculus, and had no real direction--it was great! However, because some kind of focus is required for graduation, I needed to pick a major. After some searching I discov- ered--voila!--American Studies. The beauty of the American Studies major is its freedom. There are oodles of classes that qualify, from Criminal Justice to Pop Culture, and you can pick from any of them. Since adopting this major I have been taking classes almost exclusively in areas of inter- ~ est, allowing me to hone my analytic skills on social, philosophical, and political is- sues. American Studies is the quintessential college major--it strengthens writing skills, reading skills, and problem-solving skills. The most rewarding thing about it, however, is that (unless you want it) the major doesn’t seem to impose an endgame upon you. It doesn’t obligate you to answer questions like “what are you gonna do with that?” ; I’m a lover of learning. I can do it outside of school, but the college environment is so ideal for absorbing knowledge that I am go- ing to try and take full advantage of it while I am here. I don’t want to spend my four- ~ and-a-half years here (I’m a semester behind) stressing myself out and fretting over finding a niche in the workplace, post-graduation. I am going to spend them learning to read bet- ter, learning to write better, learning to think better. I’m becoming a more complex and inter- esting person every time I sit in a classroom. I’m paying thousands of dollars a year to get out of here better than I was when I arrived. So why is it, then, that these boring adults keep asking me the same mundane ques-- tions? I want to talk about something cool- -so don’t ask me, “what are you gonna do with that?” ADVICE COLUMN: ALL ADOUT U BI BLU INT Nr Dear Blu, I have a situation in which someone wants to establish a relationship with me. I kind of want to do the same, but I can’t completely trust the person. I don’t want to end up hurt...... so how do I handle this? From, Confused Dear Confused, Thanks for writing in. First, I would coals why you have trust issues with this person. Since you already know that dealing with this person can be dicey, I would understand that you have a greater chance of being hurt, or having your heart broken (if you have love for them). Relationships are difficult in general, no matter what kind of rela- tionship you have--friends, family, or romantic. You have to ask yourself if this person is worth the risk... What kind of person are you: are you the type to play it safe and only enter a relationship when “all signs are a go” or do you play it “as is” and live wildly on the edge? Determine the person “inside of you and follow your instincts. I think you have good ones, (Umm...you did ask me for advice...just kidding) and follow what your heart tells you. Hope my advice helped you some. Tell me how it worked out for you, because I would love to hear from you again. Live life and don't let it pass you by... As always your friend, Blu ~In the "October 28th 2009 issue of the Lion's Eye, onlya i | (partion of th this s article was 3 prineed. A Above i is the article in its ve Having trouble at school, need some relationship advice, or Just ! Ge = : want to get et somerhing of. yo chest? it i 3 Your a will always be safe and you will Sen or a ii yit and who Knows - ashe Hos next pubitoied question] will be. = - | yours! di : ey Chad Sen People Poll with Adrienne Showalter What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? Ahmed Elshourbagy Derek McMillan Laura Boyd ‘Mehak Qadeer "Tyler Dodge Finance IST Sociology Business, Supply Chain IST Management “Everything” “Stuffin’” “Cranberry Sauce” “Popeye’s Homestyle i dint Ra “Stuffing” Cajun Turkey:
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