Choosing the right education (for you)

It's been a while since my last blog... Safe to say that I've been busy. I have actually graduated for my Master and am now actively looking for a job - any job - because I can no longer pay for all my expenses (by that I mean rent, food and train tickets to see my boyfriend and/or family). So that's what I've been busy with. I also went to see The Iron Lady with the amazing Meryl Streep - no wonder she got a Globe and Oscar for it - and the always lovely Tony Head (Giles from Buffy) with a friend. Afterwards we went to a bar and chatted over drinks. Of course the subject came up to what I'm doing now and what I'm looking for, but we also talked about choosing the right education...

The Dutch education system

Now, don't worry. I wont explain the entire system here, but I will explain some things to paint a picture. In Holland, when children are about four or five years old it's manditory to send them to school. Usually they leave this school by the age of twelve or thirteen. Then they go on to high school. This is where you actually have to make one of your first decisions for the rest of your life: which school to go to. There are different kind of schools based on the degree. I went to a so-called 'Gymnasium' where we also learn 'old languages', namely Latin and/or ancient Greek. It's the highest high school we have in the Netherlands and last six years (if you don't have to do any years over) - to compare, the lowest lasts four years. During the third year you have to choose a profile/direction (like medicine, chemistry, economics or culture/languages). [Side note: I have no idea if this makes any sense or not, but I hope it's understandable].

The choice we make here will play a part to determine what you will do after high school (college/university). By this time we are around fifteen or sixteen years old. In my eyes this is way to young. Luckily you still have about three years to either change your mind or switch. Though this brings a lot of extra work with it because you have to catch up on everything you've missed. More often than not, it's not even possible, because it's too much. So you have to live with that decision and work hard for it. Now I don't know about everybody else, but when I was in high school I used to dream about the future. Imagine I would have a fancy job one day. But I never really thought about how I would get there or what I would have to do. In your fourth year, you kinda have to. We were being encouraged to visit colleges and universities and take tests to find out what fits you best. When I was at this stage, I wanted to become a director. I didn't know where to look (except for the internet) and I didn't know what kind of possibilities there were. But I found a couple of places and I didn't change my mind until the final year.... when I didn't get accepted. I had to look for something else. Luckily the dates were very early for the directors programmes, so I had some time to look for something else. I decided I wanted to keep busy with films and television, so I chose a theoretical education at a university. It also fitted my high school diploma and I got accepted. 

(Buffy 4x01 Promo 'Freshman')

University

I started my Bachelor and I finished it in the three years that were planned for it. All according to schedule. How come? I was what we call a 'stuud', a person who does nothing else but learn and write papers and doesn't really take the time to do a lot of things for herself besides school. This is also because I was driven to succeed in those three years. My parents never had a lot of money and when I was fifteen my parents told me that I was going to have to get a parttime/weekend job in order to pay for college/university. And I didn't mind. Yes it was hard work, but it taught me discipline and I respected my parents all the more. It's not like they chose for it.... It's just the way it worked out. Luckily I also had some money left to buy nice things, but then I moved and I couldn't find a weekendjob in the city. I started to focus on my schoolwork again and stopped the job search. When I almost finished my Bachelor I started to think about my future, again. By this time I was 22 years old and I still had no idea what I wanted. I simply couldn't handle the pressure or didn't know what I could do with my education. So I started with my Master. This would focus more on the practical side instead of the theoretical side of the industry. It was a very good choice. It gave me a year extra to think about job opportunities and do an internship.

The (right) choice ?

The past year I have been thinking about the possibilities my education gives me on the job market and it isn't that good. Especially in this time of crisis with budget cuts. It would have been better to have done a different Bachelor education or taken some extra classes. But how could I have known that at the time? When your a teenager you - or at least I - don't think that far ahead in a realistic way. But still you are being forced to make that choice. Something that will determine the rest of your life. That sounds pretty drastic right? Well, it isn't totally true... Because you can still switch, choose a different education, but you lose momentum ... and a lot of money in the proces. You can keep switching, but the loans will keep pilling up. The truth is that some people don't know what they want until they are like forty or something. I won't go into that, but it's a fact. And I don't want to waste my time. But I also don't know for certain that what I want to do right now is really what I want to do. How can you know for sure, right? You don't know what it will be like or what else is out there or how that would work... Anyway. I just keep reminding myself of what my father told me. And that is this: "If you really want it, it doens't matter how long it takes, how many letters you have to write or interviews you have to go to. You will be driven, because it's what you really want. And that will show and that is why at some point, you will get the job that you want. You just have to keep trying." 

I am the first to say that after several months of writing motivational letters and not getting invited to a job interview does bring down your spirits. But I will keep going, because if I would ever stop, I would never even get the chance. And the more you try, the bigger your chance will get. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping. As far as the education goes: I believe there are a lot of people out there that turn their hobbies into jobs without any education at all. So the drive, enthousiasm and love for doing what you do shows other people that you will be good for the job.

(Charmed 8x22 - Shared here mostly for the reason Piper gives at 2:30)

In my oppinion

I think we have to decide too young what we want to do with our lives. This may have been ok in the past and worked out, but a second Bachelor and/or Master (or other second education), not to mention the other activities (joining groups and working on personal development) has now become unpayable. So we get burned. When I was in high school I followed my heart, only to find out that there aren't that many job abilities in this field. It's a great education and I loved it (for the most part), I don't regret it. But I definitely think that in order to get a job now, I should have been better informed or told to take some other classes (like PR or New Media et cetera), to expand the fields in which I can work. This is reality and it's harsh... Looking back, I do regret, just a little bit, the decision I made. I should have chosen a safer education, something in economics, medicine or possibly IT. But for me it's too late (because I can't afford another education even though I gladly would do it), so I have to make do with what I have. So for now - in order to pay the bills - I will take some other job. I'm not saying I will give up on my dream of doing what I want to do, but I will have to persue it in my own time. Unpaid, but doing what I want because I love to do it. 

xoxo

 It wouldn't load, but check this one out as well.

Choices

In a lot of movies and series there are people who make the wrong choices. Their excuses are usually that they 'didn't have a choice'. Which is the weakest excuse ever, because you ALWAYS have a choice.

Situations and lies

In high school series it has to do with choosing between love, friends, family, homework, parties or other teenage things (or vice versa). When it's a show about twenty or thirty something people it's between your loved ones and probably work (or what you are willing to do to get a job or a boy/girlfriend). People get caught in lies and don't know how to get out of the situation. It usually escalates into this big thing where the characters scream at each other and the friendship is (momentarily) broken. The beauty of such shows/movies is that it takes you with the story and gets you to see the situation in the light of the character. 

Everybody knows that it's not good to lie, but people still do it. At that point you make a choice. Actually your life is full of choices you probably wish you wouldn't have to make. Whether it's about choosing between clothes (to buy or wear), software or computers and such, it's all about choices. The wrong choices also lead to guilt or negativity. The more important choices have to do with your lifestyle however and the kind of a person you want to be.

Staying true to yourself

When you are given a hard choice it gives you the opportunity to self reflect. In series/movies it's about a fictional problem where a lot depends on it. Especially in soaps, such as stealing money to pay for your mother's medical bills. In real life it's more low key. Like telling a friend what you heard others say about them, or maybe about choosing to go to friends in stead of your sisters birthday party. When you make a choice like that, you consider how it will effect those involved and you try to do the good thing. 

There are some bigger problems/situations where people get in way over their heads. When they are in such a position they might think that they don't have a choice. But they always do. I can't think of a good example from my own life, but maybe something like people discriminating others, or harrassing or hurting them. People who buy a gun and end up shooting a mall full of people... (the last one maybe is a bit extreme, I admit. But it has happened, though I would think they have psychological problems, so their situation is different). They all have a choice. Namely to be the better person, to be better than that. You can choose not to fight (like Ghandi) and take whatever comes next. It might be hard, but at least you know you were being true to yourself and you don't have to feel guilty.

Buffy and it's amazing writers (SPOILERS!)

As I said before, I get inspired by shows. I always wanted to write something about choices because of two episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In this light I also want to share these beautiful moments here.

The first is the from the episode 'Lie to Me' (2x07) where Buffy's old high school crush comes to visit. As it turns out, he wants to become a vampire and is willing to sacrifice others in the proces including her. You soon find out that this guy, Ford - Billy Fordam - has a brain tumor and that's why he is doing all of it. He wants to stay young and live forever. So Buffy tells him "You have a choice. You don't have a good choice, but you have a choice!" It really hit me, because people use this as an excuse all the time. And it's so true. Even the hardest choices come down to it and what you are willing to sacrifice to make that choice.

The second moment is in the tenth episode of season three ('Amends') when Buffy and Angel have a fight. He thinks the world would be better of without him, so he is waiting for the sun to come up (and let it kill him, because he's a vampire). Here are some quots from their argument:

Angel: "I'm weak. I've never been anything else. [...]."

Buffy: "You're weak. Everybody is. Everybody fails. [...] Angel, you have the power to do real good, to make amends."

[...]

A: "Buffy, please. Just this once, let me be strong."

B: "Strong is fighting. It's hard, and it's painful, and it's everyday. It's what we have to do, and we can do it together."

This also made me think of choices, because a lot of the time the right choice is the harder choice. You could end up hurting someone or yourself in the process. So you have to fight for what you believe and be true to yourself. And I guess it all comes down to the question about what kind of a person you want to be and relate that to the choices you make. 

(sorry, I couldn't find one with better quality)

P.s. There's also an episode called 'Choices' (3x19). Maybe I should have mentioned that one as well, but I thought my blog was long enough as it is. It's a really good ep as well, so be sure to watch it if you are interested ;-).