Blather and Pondering

 "It's never too late to be who you might have been." George Eliot

Took my college sophomore back to college yesterday. She's in the most awesome room (no kidding-- it's bigger than her sister's room at home!) in a beautiful part of the Kent State campus. She managed to schedule all of the classes that she needed, and has no classes on Friday. Really, could not have been smoother.

I have no pictures. She posted this one on Facebook. I'm looking into her room from the outside, which is a fairly poetic pose. She's a better mom than I am!

She has changed her major from nursing to business finance/business accounting, because she had an alarming habit of passing out in places like history class when they were discussing foot binding. This summer was hard for her, because she was home and not making any progress in her life. She wanted the future to be now.

How long has it been since you felt that way? That time just could not pass quickly enough? But I remember that so well. Right now, her dream is to run a self sufficient organic farm. I've told her the business background would help, and that while she shouldn't give up that dream, she should be aware that it might be difficult to acchieve.

I started out as a Latin major with an Ancient Greek minor, having thrown over my first idea of being a journalist, but was working very hard to become a poet. Before my sophomore year in college, I had published 15 poems, including one in Writers' Digest for which I was actually paid. My plans for the future included, among other things, a stint in the Peace Corps.

Because, obviously, they needed Latin teachers. Like everybody else.

I can't think of any career choices I could have made at 20 that would have ended with actual employment in my field of choice. Even now, when I play "what if", I can't come up with anything realistic and attainable. I want to work with Heifer International. Be involved with international business. And, perhaps, run that self sustaining organic farm. While it makes perfect sense that I am a school librarian, and I'm decent at what I do, I don't think that in a dozen chances to choose again at 20, I would have picked this as a career.

So who might I have been?

Who might you have been?

Is it too late?

Or is who we evolved to be the best "choice" after all?