The path less traveled

I officially switched my major to Liberal Studies yesterday. Its not too earth shattering, I can change it again at any time, but that I've finally allowed myself to accept that this is what I want is a big step.

Around this time last year, I sat around with a group of friends and announced I wanted to change my major to Liberal Studies. The response was less than encouraging. "You'll never get hired," "no one will take you seriously," and similar remarks. I expected this, I will expect it for the rest of my life. But I have spent the last 3 years going back and forth with degrees I know won't work for me, trying to fit into corporate America's mold for an ideal employee.

Yes, I wanted to be an anthropologist. And a historian. And a social worker. And a teacher. And a mortician. And a non-profit community organizer. I really did.
But those are interests. I have a bajillion of them, just waiting to be explored. The true question I need to ask myself is: Can I make a career out of this?

Okay, technically I am physically able to make a career out of just about anything. I'm talking life-long fulfillment, service to the community and financial stability. The above career options fulfill one or two of these requirements but not all, and it would leave me feeling like I needed something more if I were to settle with those.

A degree in Liberal Studies may not land me a degree at an accounting firm or as a paralegal, but it WILL allow me to study the way I know is best for me and will eventually lead me to my ideal life.

Ah, my ideal life. It appears to change with the wind but in my heart of hearts lies one unchanging aspect: a farm.

Having a farm is vital to my happiness. Having a small amount of livestock that feed me and my neighbors (through comraderie or a neighborhood market) as well as land to sustain myself on is a key component to what I feel I need. I can't explain it other than I need to be closer to the land.

I feel that if I can have a farm, a small farm, then my career will follow suit. I need a career that is just as beneficial to nature, humans and myself as a farm. I need a job that helps me lead a compassionate, joyful life. I do not want the stress of crunching numbers, sales, leads or quotas. Something whole and natural.

The option of becoming a doula has occured to me lately and thanks to the wonderful encouragement of a close friend I am seriously considering this path. I would be helping women enjoy their pregnancies and births to their fullest while also getting the rare and beautiful chance to witness a child being brought into the world. There is nothing morally challenging to me about being a Doula, which is why it sits so well with me. If I lose any sleep as a doula, it will because of excitement and anticipation, and occasionally because something is going wrong, not because I am going against my instincts or I'm being forced by management into an uncompromising position. I feel I could live in peace and contentment as a doula.

Another benefit to becoming a doula would be that I would forever have the opportunity to further my education and become a child birth educator or even a midwife.

Nothing is solid yet - but it never should be with me. I am too ambitious and anxious to be locked in to one path in life. That's precisely why I feel so comfortable with Liberal Studies as my major. It gives me the wiggle room I need to grow and learn and change the way I need to.

I am happy with my decision.