I have always found summer to be a special time of the year. No school, no homework, and plenty of possibilities. Sometimes travel, sometimes summer school, other times you work. And occasionally you get to do nothing. But either way, the idea of summer is always exciting. Entering college, I realized that I am on a countdown of my last few summer vacations. I have three more to be precise, unless I got to Grad school but those are a different story.

Naturally, like countless around me, I have started planning my summer. Currently, I am still debating between volunteering, enrolling in a summer session, interning, working, traveling or a variation of the above.

 Volunteer ideas:

World Wide Opportunities of Organic Farm is a worldwide work that gives provides volunteers the opportunity to live, work, and learn on organic farms while providing meals and lodging.  There are currently 143 countries in this network. For a city girl, like me, this could be a life-changing experience where I discover the beauty of working with my hands ( no, not on the keyboard). I can potentially learn to appreciate life and nature more.

The downside to this organization is that it costs money.  Since this is not an NGO, it requires membership fees, which is separate for each country. Generally, an annual membership costs around $30 USD per country. Also, you can see specific information about each country only after you have a membership which sucks because if I don’t know what each experience has to offer I am reluctant to pay $30. And since I don’t have a membership I cannot see what the experience is about.

Another such international experience platform that I am considering is Workaway. This experience focuses on cultural exchange and includes various of experiences including helping out with schools in Japan to looking after Husky dogs in Alaska. It is good for a traveler on budget and language learners which fits my profile of summer plan. This platform operates in over 165 countries and covers food and housing. This website also requires a membership fee. For one person a year it is $29. Two person it is $38. As a single person, I feel offended (slightly). But as I am interested in traveling to Japan,  I may use this platform. Perhaps I can spend a month in Japan teaching kids English or help maintain a hotel. If I do, I will update you all.

What type of experience interests you? Do you want to travel to a foreign land to help and learn its culture? What resources have you utilized to make your choice?
Please comment below!

One of the most popular and most recommended jobs that most of my friends has considered at some point in their lives is the career choice of becoming a doctor. It is prestigious, stable, and well paid – to many, it is the iconic ideal job. Yet, I have never considered this. Partially due to my lack of general interest in science and mostly due to my dislike for death. People say doctors save lives and bring lives, but they also inform death. This can happen in diagnosis or in the surgery room. The thought of being a messenger of death scares me. (I welcome you to fight me on this).

Given my general lack of interest in science, I’ve ruled out many related fields: researcher, electrician, physicist, engineer, chemist, technician, and general scientist.

The Childhood Nightmare

A job that I have more seriously considered is the other “prestigious, stable and well paid” job – lawyer. I like talking and debating people (occasionally). And at least what I see in TV shows (like Scandal or How to Get Away with Murder), this job seems to be very dramatic and exciting.  I like exciting things. Yet, in my last year of high school, I frequented the courthouse in Vancouver. Let’s just say things aren’t what I expected. Cases were long; some had upwards of hundreds of different times to meet at court. The whole procedure in most cases consisted of reading off of a binder or talking in legalease jargon. It was hard to keep focused on what’s happening (as I was later told, what happens to most juries). As a result of what I’ve learned, I am reconsidering the legal field.

If only this happens in real life…

I like to eat. I enjoy eating very much. But I am a horrible cook and I don’t have the interest that some people have in improving my cooking. I don’t plan to become a chief or a baker, so I suppose we can rule out restaurants manager, server, barista, and bartender.

What I do in kitchens…

Another industry that I don’t plan to enter is that of the entertainment. There is first the choice of actor. This job seems to require two main components generally. Love for the spotlight and physical attractiveness. I don’t have enough of either to make a serious or light consideration of acting. Another arm of this field is that of sport, music, or dance. All three require expertise in a very specific field and intense passion. I don’t happen to be blessed with the love or genius of a skill like these. Also, I tend to think these jobs tend to be short-lived. They have high physical demands that make them suitable for only a decade or two of employability.

I’m learning about myself through discovering what I don’t want to do…and this in turn continues to shape the kinds of jobs and internships I explore. Stay tuned for more on that… until then: What jobs do you not want to try? Why?

It seems to have been my entire life that I have decided that I want to study history in college. I find joy in seeing the patterns of the past and relationship to current events. I have always loved learning about and uncovering the way of the things before me. The stories of the past lure me on.

I know what you may be thinking at this point; what would you do with a history major? Are you thinking of becoming a professor? A historian? A lawyer? Or one of those over-educated and underpaid people?

To be frank, I do not know. That is why I am planning to take a second major – something more practical as a potential job choice.  Currently, I am trying out Economics. I have found the two AP Economics exams to be relatively easy (but it is said that the Economic AP’s are the easiest). Three years after the exam, I can still freshly remember the relationship between demand and supply as well as the various graphs they are associated with the exam.

This semester I am taking the Introductory course to Microeconomics with Pedace. I hope this course will help me get a better understanding of my potential relationship with Economics. Businesswoman? A stock market person? A financial consultant?

To compliment this attempt, I have also applied to join the Scripps College Economics Society. And I am sending resumes to various economic-related internships for the summer. The goal is to see what fellow Economic majors do whether I belong there or not.

Another that major that I am interested in trying out (after getting brainwashed by a Tedtalk) is Computer Science. This is irrefutably one of the most popular majors of our age. Not to mention, our good neighbour, Harvey Mudd College has a phenomenal program in CS. The resources are literally a street away.  Just thinking about having the words “double major in History and Computer Science” feels amazing.

Yet, I must keep in mind of the reality. I have no little knowledge and experience with computer or science. I have little confidence in my math skills. I am not even a science-oriented person…

Next semester I plan to take CS5 from Harvey Mudd. Hopefully, this will show me whether I can or cannot get the nice words of “double major in History and Computer Science” next to my name.

In the meantime, I shall continue to explore other options. Let’s see where this goes…