(photo taken by: Kacey Ng)
As university starts up once again, for some for the first time, many of us are still unsure of where our university degrees will take us in life. I, among many, have taken university as a challenge in order to fulfill a diploma degree before being graced with the freedom of pursuing a dream within the creative arts. I thought that I was alone in feeling this way; however, I found that many shared similar feelings to mine.
Many are holding back from creating their own personalized stories and following suit with what could be considered to be the norm; attending university and receiving a diploma, helping a student to obtain a stable job. Through many psychological studies such as: (http://www.intropsych.com/ch15_social/asch_1951_conformity.html & http://www.holah.karoo.net/piliavinstudy.htm ), we can see how easy it can be for the social surroundings to influence conformity of decisions. It is also possible to see how if there is more than one person with a conflicting opinion, the subjects are more likely to conform. These decisions can be as simple as choosing a line length, as shown in the study, or can be as sophisticated as trying to decide on what career path to pursue. The idea of risk, presented in: http://bigthink.com/in-their-own-words/the-necessity-of-creative-risk-taking can show us how risk is a fundamental component of grasping a job within the creative arts, however, it is possible to see how these risks may deter many students from following their dreams, and therefore, pushing away the qualities that shape individuality. People such as Larry Smith: https://www.ted.com/speakers/larry_smith would explain that if you want to create impact and be stellar at what you do, you need to have a passion for what you’re working towards.
To my UBC community, are you pursuing a path with which you are passionate about? Would what you’re pursuing right now be something that you’d be proud of sharing with the future generation?
(Above is a creation of mine: if you aren’t sure if you’re pursuing your passions, what else would you follow?)
-Kacey Ng