From the time I was in high school till I was about 25 y.o., I was absolutely passionate about my extra-curricular activities and "eh" about my classes / work.
For example, it is both one of my life's great shames and one of my life's best decisions that I failed out of my after-school advanced math geek-a-rama course in 10th grade due to 1) Subway sandwiches and 2) cheerleading practice and games. Sure, I had to retake calculus later on in my junior year, but I also was able to develop teamwork, creativity and high-kick skills that have been instrumental to other pursuits post-high school.
In college, I'd skip out on professors' office hours to keep a near-perfect attendance record for TKD practice. I would also scrimp on my Govy class readings in order to spend time conveying new Chinese dance choreography via text-only email to my fellow dancerinas. And I drove over to a local elementary school to read books to an ESL 1st-grader more regularly than I attended my Econ class group study sessions.
Later when living in the suburbs of Boston and chillin' with a 9-5er, I'd make the trek into Chinatown multiple times a week in order to learn, teach and perform Chinese dance at a bona fide Chinese dance academy.
During the days of pre-Corporate Slavery NYC, I would opt to return to the office multiple times a week to start work again at 10PM, after getting an invigorating dose of Tootsie's best stream-of-consciousness choreography. "Don't think!" she'd insist during class, and encourage us instead to trust our instincts and accumulated skills.
The reason why this "year of liberation" appeals to me so much is because it basically allows me to focus fully on these "extra-curriculars" that have been so sorely overlooked in the last four years. And tonight, I suddenly realized - why the heck can't I find a way to base my career on all these activities and means of expression that I love? Sure, there's a chance that once I "have" to do something, I'll start resenting it. But I'll never know unless I give it a whirl.
So that's all for tonight. Just wanted to share this sudden flash of insight and luxuriate in nostalgia for a bit. Life was so full back then, and I really miss that feeling. (And in case you're curious, no, WINKIE hasn't done a very good job at filling the void.)
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