Ahhhh…. Wednesday

It’s 11am and I am still in bed. I got up to do some housework, and made my breakfast coffee, but it was cold out, and I have stuff to do on the computer. Apparently I am now officially “Permanent Part-Time”, so Wednesday is my day to go to Medicare, the dentist, do some gardening, play with bunnies, knit, and ponder my future.

I am considering going back to some sort of formal study, but I am still at a complete loss as to what to study. Here are some ideas, and pros and cons.

1. Journalism.

Pros: I like writing, and used be be better than average at it. I can spell, and punctuate, and though my grammar could use a little lift, I don’t embarrass myself often with how I express myself. I embarass myself with WHAT I say quite often, but I say it well. Also, it doesn’t have to be a 9-5 job. I am not good at the 9-5 thing. I don’t mind working crazy hours (as evidenced by my 12 years in the film industry), and I don’t mind uncertain income, not knowing wether you’ll eat from one day to the next. I don’t mind having to chase work, and I quite like the idea of writing for multiple publications and stretching my mind a little.

Cons: Years of study. What if I hate it ? If I hate the study, I will be crap at it. I am really, utterly, disastrously bad at staying focussed on things that bore me. I could stare at a crack in the wall for four days solid if it interested me, but couldn’t watch a single hour of cricket. If you paid me. And supplied endless vodka martinis.

2. Photography

Pros: I like the pictures I take, and I love creating beautiful things. I can work alone, follow my heart, and spread joy with my work. I can tell stories, document life changing events, and have an excuse to keep up my gadget habit.

Cons: Every idiot with a camera thinks they can be a professional. My grandfather was a professional photographer, and a man who praised sparingly. In the year that I studied photography at school, he praised exactly one of my photographs. One. It’s not like me to be discouraged easily, but his opinion meant a lot to me, and I was discouraged. So discouraged that I didn’t pick up the camera again until after he died. So I really have no idea if I am any good. Mum and Dad have been wonderfully encouraging, and so has Mark, but I need to show my pictures around, and be open to the idea that *I* think my pictures are great, and my family supports me, but no-one else needs to see them. That’s totally OK, but I need to expose myself a little, and I am working up to that point.

3. Graphic Design

Pros: I have the equipment, I have a strong visual sense, and I love design.

Cons: Again, it’s a very competitive market, and even once I have the skills, I’ll have to find clients and make money. I don’t know that I have the passion to make it work

I have always been moderately good at things. Not a superstar in one particular field, but better than adequate at most things I try (excepting sport and music – let’s not go there). Every few years I find a new interest – first it was bunnies, then gardening, then knitting, and now photography. I’m still interested in all these things, but knowing about my short attention span is probably a vital thing to consider in any change of career. I know I could learn almost any profession on the job, but academic study would be hard for me to stick to unless every day held a new challenge, and reward. Or, perhaps I should go back to the BA I was doing externally at UNE – at least I could take a different subject every semester, and maintain interest that way. Unfortunately, that would take forever, and qualify me for exactly what I am doing now – pondering my future.