Old Sock Drawer

a story to tell, a novel you keep in a drawer

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#021: Ray of illumination?

October 29th, 2008 by Mary Leong

Currently listening to: “Filthy/Gorgeous” – Scissor Sisters

When you’re little, everything seems so clear. Growing up simply taints things with a muddy boot.

I recall being nine, and being absolutely gripped by the desire to write. Absolutely convinced that I was going to become a writer at some point in my life, I wrote all sorts of children’s stories, complete with Crayola illustrations. And they were really good stories, too – wonderful larksome tidbits of porcupines solving mysteries of the missing peanut butter and other such. Then, at about ten, I decided that I would be a journalist one day. BBC and all. It was such a good mental picture, too: I was convinced I’d be a foreign correspondent, reporting from war-torn areas. (Yes, even back then I was an idealist. But we’ll get into that later.) Those were grand dreams. Very grand indeed.

Then along the road someone told me – no, absolutely drummed the notion into my head – that writers make absolutely no money, journalists get shot on a regular basis, and I’d be thoroughly daft to consider it, and you wouldn’t want to be daft, would you? Not quite convinced, but shaken sufficiently (both by the insinuation of perceived daft-ness and wondering how anyone could be so bloody hostile), I drifted off, much like driftwood in a vast ocean of confusion. And I fear I’ve never quite found my way back.

Through high school, I took Science courses of all manners (and thoroughly hated it). Thinking that I’d learnt my lesson, I vowed that I’d never be as stupidly impressionable again, and swore to do what I enjoy in university. So that notion of “doing what I enjoyed” had me latching onto the idea of psychology. Not too fluffy, interesting enough, but not too much of a science to terrify me. Respectable enough, albeit with certain connotations. But whatever. So now I’m here. A feeling of sheer desperation and fear and absolute panic has taken over. I ask myself if I’m certain this is what I want. Don’t get me wrong, it’s bloody brilliant (at least, the textbook is). I sit in Psych classes- I’m fascinated by the subject in itself, but dear god, once talk of neurotransmitters and other such purely biological things crop up, I’m out like a light. Then in my spare time, I continue to bury my head in books (including lots of reading on psychology), plays, poetry, and yes, BBC NEWS, all the while whinging to myself, wondering why it is just so difficult to just leap off the bandwagon and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Has my vision really become so blurred that I can’t even quite tell where I’m heading?

As my Facebook status says it best: “Mary, what the hell are you doing with your life?!?”

Is selectively encouraging dreams really helpful? Of course, I realize there’s the whole question of what happens if your child wants to be an axe murderer and emerges a Neo-Nazi in troubled times and singlehandedly sparks an economic downfall while wearing white shoes after Labour Day, BUT let’s be sensible here, I’m talking about regular childhood dreams. But think- how much more expansively would we have let our minds wander? Indeed, how differently would we have turned out if instead of being discouraged, we were allowed to chase even the faintest wispy butterflies of dreams down the cobblestone path, unfettered?

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2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Samantha Horton Oct 30, 2008 at 10:16 am

    Okay, now I must admit that I am a little freaked out.

    When I was in the fourth grade, I decided I wanted to be a writer. As soon as my family got wind of this, they started to hammer in the “writers don’t make any money” argument. I turned to Psychology, thinking I’d become a psychologist to make money, and write books on the side.

    Last year, I took Arts One and Psych 100. By the end of my Psych 100 course I knew that it wasn’t for me. I found all the material really interesting, but got lost on the uber sciencey parts. Sound a little bit familiar?

    Well, this year I have decided to try and follow my dream. I am taking Creative Writing 202, which is the only CW class you can take outside the major, and I am working on my portfolio in aims of applying for the major at the end of this year. If that falls through, I’m going to fall back on English, so I can earn my major reading instead of writing.

    I think the point to all of this is you are far, far from alone. I was in your shoes last year, and you can be in my shoes next year, if you want. Don’t let other people’s opinions of what you should do crawl into your head too much, the purpose of college is to follow your own path. Just remember that a BA is a BA, and most job positions don’t care too much what you major in, so the best idea is to follow your heart. It won’t just make you happy, it will help you do better too.

    To be honest, I am just excited to see what path we each end up going down.

    Hang in there, Mary!

    Well, if you need anything, Miss Mary, you know I’m here!

  • 2 Phoebe Yu Oct 30, 2008 at 8:48 pm

    You’re definitely not alone Mary. I had visions of myself composing masterpieces on stained napkins in a coffee shop (okay, maybe that’s just the result of too much JKR). I also wanted to say things like, “This is CNN special correspondent Christine Amanpour, reporting live from war-torn Baghdad” *GIDDY*

    Don’t let any external influences inhibits you from writing. I think writing (or in my case, play-writing) is one of those wonderful modes of expression that so many desire to master, yet give up as soon as some kind of block hit. It’s a gift =D