Ottawa, Canada
I've finally arrived ... not at my fiscal, social, sexual, etc. peak, nor a peak in any sense of the word (although, I think the sexual thing should have happened when I was 18 or so ...). In "arrival" I mean, I am finally through the throws of undergraduate university life and I am ready for the next chapter as it were.
What is this next chapter? I suppose its nascence started before the last one terminated. As still a spry, immature student, I was forced to reckon with the immediacy of my future during my final terms at university. I was more or less content in my responsibility-lacking existence, moving costively towards a degree in physics and economics. I recognized the materiality of an end, a piece of paper signifying five years (I took some worthwhile detours) of higher learning; however, I lived naively in the present, not wishing to contemplate the future.
Future ... what a foreboding term. There is something about that word and my generation; something everyone grapples with, its inherent uncertainty and yet our desire for predictability, security in one form or another. In my opinion, the current state of our society has permitted us to have more choices than ever before. Consequently, we are more demanding; trapped in a well-paying job until retirement, is not our idea of security. Our expectations are higher, so we expect more: a job or jobs that will provide challenge, diversity, pleasure as well as fiscal stability. We demand security of enjoyment, adventure, an other intangibles, that sometimes money alone cannot always guarantee. These factors are what make the choices so difficult and make "future" to me a reviled word.
In weighing my options, I found that there were two main choice categories. I could confirm adulthood and enter professional life or I could defer it and continue being spry and immature. Obviously, these categories are not as Black and White as the terrorism designations made by the George W. Administration; there are many shades of gray. However at the time, since I was only considering perhaps a year to two down the road, there would be many opportunities to reverse course. The decision between Black and White became the first major road block on my path towards the hereafter. On the Black side, I could join the endless stream of undergraduates heading towards the Toronto Metropolis and procure an occupation; whereas, on the White side, I could obtain further education in the form of a Masters, Doctorate, etc. After some deliberation, neither side was very convincing, so what was left? ... Something else! ... Something else? ... Something gray perhaps.
Now after that wry and verbose preamble, I will finally get to the crux of this post ... the question at the beginning of paragraph two: "What is this next chapter?"
I have decided to travel. I will be going to the Asian Sub-Continent and Oceania, and perhaps some other regions too before all is said and done. However, simply traveling was much too white in my raw expertise, which prompted me to search out other potential options abroad. My reconnaissance mission spotted The Foundation for Sustainable Development, who link volunteers with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in developing countries. I now have a 16-week internship with an NGO in India starting at the end of Sept (more on this in a later post). The plan is to complete the internship, travel within India and the surrounding region, and then mosey on to Australia to visit my family. Definitely gray.
This Blog is meant to chronicle the missteps, pitfalls and blunders of these adventures, along with hopefully some epiphanies about my life and the world around us.
I've finally arrived ... not at my fiscal, social, sexual, etc. peak, nor a peak in any sense of the word (although, I think the sexual thing should have happened when I was 18 or so ...). In "arrival" I mean, I am finally through the throws of undergraduate university life and I am ready for the next chapter as it were.
What is this next chapter? I suppose its nascence started before the last one terminated. As still a spry, immature student, I was forced to reckon with the immediacy of my future during my final terms at university. I was more or less content in my responsibility-lacking existence, moving costively towards a degree in physics and economics. I recognized the materiality of an end, a piece of paper signifying five years (I took some worthwhile detours) of higher learning; however, I lived naively in the present, not wishing to contemplate the future.
Future ... what a foreboding term. There is something about that word and my generation; something everyone grapples with, its inherent uncertainty and yet our desire for predictability, security in one form or another. In my opinion, the current state of our society has permitted us to have more choices than ever before. Consequently, we are more demanding; trapped in a well-paying job until retirement, is not our idea of security. Our expectations are higher, so we expect more: a job or jobs that will provide challenge, diversity, pleasure as well as fiscal stability. We demand security of enjoyment, adventure, an other intangibles, that sometimes money alone cannot always guarantee. These factors are what make the choices so difficult and make "future" to me a reviled word.
In weighing my options, I found that there were two main choice categories. I could confirm adulthood and enter professional life or I could defer it and continue being spry and immature. Obviously, these categories are not as Black and White as the terrorism designations made by the George W. Administration; there are many shades of gray. However at the time, since I was only considering perhaps a year to two down the road, there would be many opportunities to reverse course. The decision between Black and White became the first major road block on my path towards the hereafter. On the Black side, I could join the endless stream of undergraduates heading towards the Toronto Metropolis and procure an occupation; whereas, on the White side, I could obtain further education in the form of a Masters, Doctorate, etc. After some deliberation, neither side was very convincing, so what was left? ... Something else! ... Something else? ... Something gray perhaps.
Now after that wry and verbose preamble, I will finally get to the crux of this post ... the question at the beginning of paragraph two: "What is this next chapter?"
I have decided to travel. I will be going to the Asian Sub-Continent and Oceania, and perhaps some other regions too before all is said and done. However, simply traveling was much too white in my raw expertise, which prompted me to search out other potential options abroad. My reconnaissance mission spotted The Foundation for Sustainable Development, who link volunteers with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in developing countries. I now have a 16-week internship with an NGO in India starting at the end of Sept (more on this in a later post). The plan is to complete the internship, travel within India and the surrounding region, and then mosey on to Australia to visit my family. Definitely gray.
This Blog is meant to chronicle the missteps, pitfalls and blunders of these adventures, along with hopefully some epiphanies about my life and the world around us.
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