The Road Ahead
A new year has commenced, and with it, a new Jonathan. Well, not exactly "new" per se, but I believe a lot of aspects of my life will continue to evolve and change as I become more settled in my new home here in the Washington, D.C.-area. Although I continue to work for a law firm, and plan to put in my time here, I remain committed to defining and pursuing what it is exactly I want to do career-wise.
As some of you know, I have spoken briefly recently about accepting my previous offer for enrollment at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. The beginning of the semester would coincide with my one-year anniversary where I work, which was determined to be the minimum commitment to my current employer. However, as much as I love writing and enjoy the creativity and freedom of thought it provides, I have become more and more doubtful of the merits of a Master's degree in a skill rather than in education towards a particular profession or career. You see, although the Professional Writing program both improves my skills and produces legitimacy to those skills, I would still be forced to choose some type of career path within writing, which I have been careful to avoid. This caution remains.
With the new year already rolling, I have become steadily more interested in the intelligence field. My skills tend to be in the areas of analysis and cross-referencing, as well as writing in general. My knowledge base tends to be in the areas of political and international affairs, which would, I think, be helpful in that particular field. Currently, I'm studying the field to see if it would be appropriate for me. Certainly the pay doesn't seem to shabby!
Escapades in Film
Film continues to really interest me. Travis and I continue our work on the screenplay IJ, which we hope is destined for production by a reputable studio. Our plan is to have it completed in roughly a year. Something about visuallizing funny scenes is really fun, and I think if we can learn the necessary skills to produce a good screenplay and, perhaps more importantly, get it into the right hands, it'll be gold. We shall see.
1 comment:
I have also been debating on what I should do after this degree is conplete. The NYU musical theater writing program does not provide a career with the lifestyle I want, and it kind of leves me dry in applying to doctoral programs if I don't keep up more academic compositions. HOWEVER! My musical theater outlet seems to be similar to your writing outlet. DON'T give it up. Even if you don't use that degree to earn your bread-and-butter, you will always have that experience. Just think of how much it will expand your realm of thought. Even if I never make it as a well-known/groundbreaking composer I will always have the expereince of constantly creating, learning, bettering myself, altering my thought processes... the list goes on. I wouldn't trade it for the world. If I get accepted to NYU and don't have a good offer from another school to beat it- I'm going to NYU. It's an opportunity of a lifetime. I may never go into musical theater. Again, that's not the life I want to lead. But I will go for the experience, the expansion of the creative process, and the re-discovering of myself that will occur.
Just think about it. You spoke a lot about pursuing your writing. I really think you should. If you go, you have obtained a long-term goal and long-awaited opportunity. If you don't go, you will continue with your job and most likely do very well.
I'm sorry to sound so direct!! (And very rant-esque) I've just wrestled with what I am doing next for a VERY long and hard time, and wanted to put in my 2 cents.
Take care.
PS- Any snow? We had SERIOUS ice this morning!!
Post a Comment