Now this is super cool!

Vibration Harvesters: Powering up, one step at a time

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So anyway, today I was thinking about school. About how difficult it is to choose a major... because there are so many interesting choices!

For example, I think I have my major(s) narrowed down to Sociology and International Development.*

But that could change! My indecisiveness is so annoying! My mind changes everytime I read something new - then I start to thinking, "Maybe I should be in religious studies because belief systems fascinate me..." Or "Maybe I should have stuck with an English degree because otherwise how will I ever get a chance to read 17th century romantic poetry and dissect Shakespeare's Tragedies to boot..."

Today I was daydreaming about which degrees I would take if I had all the money in the world. I figured I'd list off five or so.

I started my list off with Sociology & IDS, then added Political Science.

Then I thought, "Hey, Religious Studies would be incredibly interesting - imagine learning about the Bible from a non-JW point of view."

Then I added the Classics. (That's 5 already.)

But I'd also have to have English!

And what about History???

Oh, and then there's Environmental Studies...

And the list could go on and on! Its so infuriating! Yes, its also totally exciting because there are so many possibilities, so many things to learn that an entire lifetime could easily be filled without even skimming the surface - that alone is incredibly frustrating!

I mean, if everything is interesting, then what is the most important subject to study??? What's should I know? What is the most enriching, the most satisfying - especially if one likes everything!

Oh, and I forgot about Physics! Or maybe narrow that down to just Astronomy...

And don't even get me started on more "practical" subjects like woodworking, mechanics, cooking, etc.!

Which leads me to our public school system. How is it that it takes us 12 years to school our children in the "basics" and they walk away from that education knowing how to do what exactly...? They can hopefully add, subtract... I highly doubt that every high school graduate knows their multiplication tables backwards and forwards though - I sure didn't and I graduated with Honors. They can write and spell - ideally, but not necessarily...

What are they skilled to do? What have they learned in the way of a moral code? What have they been taught about citizenship?

Why do we take 12 years of our childrens' lives and then make it so that its almost a necessity to add on another 3-5 in University?

And if our children were taken away from the world of total technology would they be able to survive? Do they know how to cope with the natural world or only the superficial one which may not exist in twenty odd years once we've milked it dry?

Okay, okay, I know that's survivalist thinking. Not to mention hypocritical because I doubt I'd be able to survive if you dropped me in, say, the Gobi Desert for a few nights.

But I'd sure love to learn how to! Darnit, why didn't my parents place me in Girl Guides...

Oh, I'd also like to learn First Aid.

Actually, hell - I'd like to learn basic nursing and surgery skills!

And throw in learning French, Spanish, and Mandarin. And self-defense. And how to sew.



The more I think about it the more useless I feel...

*sigh*



Um, of course, I'm not really complaining, you know. It delights me to think of all there is to learn. I definitely would rather have too much to learn then not enough!

But boy oh boy, does it sure make it hard to figure out where to start...



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* I've never seen the phrase "traditions of peace and service" applied to IDS before. I like it. So can I tell people that my degree is about 'peace and service'? Because currently when asked I sputter about trying to sum up what exactly I'm endeavoring to be trained at and usually end up going with something like "Um, its a very interdisciplinary degree that can lead to humanitarian aid work"...