But change is.
For all of you not knowing what to do “From here,” listen to Rush and remember that there’s always change.
It’s well established that I want to be a pastry chef. No question about that (except maybe a little nagging part of me that says “Oh no! You might not like it!” and the other 99% of me telling it to shut up and that it’s just being paranoid). But before that was to come a new and shiny … (no, not a Mustang, well, maybe) bachelor of science. But really, I’m not finding this interesting. While everyone was amazed by the Rubens’ tube in physics today, I was more interested in trying to figure out where the imaginary smell of bread was coming from and why from a tab I had on my phone (https://blogs.ubc.ca/kelvinchoi, I was reading about renting games in Canada) the first word I get out of the URL is not “blog” or “ubc” or “kelvinchoi,” but instead, “cake” (.ca/ke). A sign? Maybe. I’m going crazy? More likely.
So it got me thinking, what am I going to do “From here”? Do I continue taking science courses here? Maybe. Do I go through another 2 years in culinary school after university to never do anything related to science again? Quite likely. Am I wasting my time? Some (my mother) insist no, others (myself) insist yes.
And since nobody likes to talk about their problems, I figured I’m the only one in this terrible dilemma. I don’t even like to do anything. What do I do after class? Wait for dinner time to arrive. What do I do after dinner? Wait for my bed time to arrive. So where in the world do I start finding what I might like to do? I googled various career interest tests and they all included the same result: pastry chef. Seems that I do like something, just nothing I have evidence for. But the last time that happened (love for Canada), it worked out quite well for me.
And then I found a few people. “So, what are you going to do after university?” “I um…well…I don’t know…?” “What faculty are you in?” “*names faculty* but I don’t like any of the courses I’m taking” “What do you enjoy doing?” “Nothing.” “What do you do with your free time?” “Nothing.” Given what I said previously, this most certainly sounds like a conversation with myself, but I assure you that there was someone else answering my questions. A few minutes prior to that I found someone who was absolutely set on going into science and was in the faculty of science last year, yet switched to music. She has no idea what she’s going to do with it, but she enjoys it and that’s all that matters.
To end on a slightly random note, whenever I think about the purpose of anything, this lovely Red vs Blue episode always pops into my mind: (Some strong language)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BAM9fgV-ts[/youtube]
Simmons: You ever wonder why we’re here?
Grif: It’s one of life’s great mysteries isn’t it? Why are we here? Are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there a god watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don’t know, man. But it keeps me up at night.
Simmons: What?! I mean why are we out here, in this canyon.
Grif: Oh. Uh…yeah.
Simmons: What was all that stuff about God?
Grif: Uh…hm? Nothing.
Simmons: You wanna talk about it?
Grif: No.
Simmons: You sure?
Grif: Yeah.
Simmons: Seriously though, why are we out here? Far as I can tell, it’s just a boxed a canyon in the middle of nowhere. No way in or out.
Grif: Uh hmm.
Simmons: The only reason we set up a Red Base here, is because they have a Blue Base over there. And the only reason they have a Blue Base over there, is because we have a Red Base here.
Grif: Yeah. That’s cause we’re fighting each other.
Simmons: No no. But I mean, even if we were to pull out today, and if they would come take our base, they would have two bases in the middle of a boxed canyon. Whoopdee-fucking-doo.
5 replies on “He knows changes aren’t permanent”
LOL I have never seen cake in .ca/ke and I’m the one maintaining that blog!
I think it’s awesome that you have a career that you’re passionate about. Many of my first year friends all want to be pharmacists and doctors just because of parental influence/money.
It’s ALWAYS worth going into a career that you like because you will end up doing so much more. What I mean is that you will take the career into your own hands, become creative, and constantly strive for excellence. Not to mention you’ll be practicing culinary arts everyday (That’s a big plus).
Before you consider leaving university to be a pastry chef, you should also think about why you came to the sciences in the first place. You know, during the application process, why was science your first choice and not arts, commerce, or applied science? There’s got to be something in the sciences that you like. We’ve only gone through first year too, so maybe take some time to do some courses from different disciplines.
I hear from many students that by third year all the courses get more enjoyable because they’re much more focused and interesting. If you still have some interest maybe you should give those a try.
I have the same problem as you. I have no idea what to do with my life, but for now, I’m planning to take lots of different science courses. Who knows, maybe there’s a course that will be so interesting that I’ll pursue it for the rest of my life.
Hope this helps
I’m totally feeling with you’re feeling (cept the pastry chef part and the whole ca/ke thing… which actually made me really LOL)
I’m in commerce, but I don’t really know why I’m here, where I want to go, or if I even like it where I am. But you have something you really want to do. I wish I had that, and I’d probably go chase it.
But Kelvin’s words seem quite wise, to think about why you chose to be in science. University degrees open a lot of doors.
I met a guy who took five years of engineering and then decided he wasn’t happy and that his true passion was human geography. He’s doing his first year of geography and will end up graduating after eight years of university.
The thing is, he’s SUPER happy. He loves what he does.
I guess what I’m saying is that you should be doing what you love, and you should be happy to be realizing that now and not in 4 years!! :D
Such an honest reflection – thanks for sharing it. I think the best learning happens when we are compelled to do something. Imagine yourself as a pastry chef – what does that look like? What do you need to learn in order to be a really good one? What do you know now about pastry? What do you need to know? From those imaginings, you’ll begin to see what you need to know in order to live your dream – then go about learning it. FYI: baking is based on science. What makes a puffed pastry puff? Oh and one final question: Why aren’t you making pastry in your spare time?
Thank you all for your comments :) I greatly appreciate them.
@Kelvin: I know a bunch of people like that too :/ It always makes me sad when people go for a career just for the pay. I actually came to sciences because it’s what I’m best at. In a way, I also liked how some of the sciences let you create things, which is more of an engineering thing, but I always liked making things. With engineering though, I felt like you had to come up with something to make. I am in no way shape or form innovative. I’d imagine that the upper level courses are more interesting and I’m going to take a few electives, but it would be so much easier if there were culinary electives :P I’ve heard of a few stories where people find something they love by going to some random class or workshop, so I hope you find something that you love.
@Paulina: Indeed, a university degree is a good thing to have. I did have a culinary school in mind though that would also get me a degree, so that put a few more complications in my plans.
@Valentina: Wow, well, I’m glad that he found something eventually that he loves!
@Cindy: Indeed, maybe that’s why I’m at least partially interested in science. I used to bake on Fridays at a friend’s place and there’s no real reason why I don’t anymore. Maybe it’s the stress of school that discourages me from expending any more energy than I have to.