Today, we were lucky to have Laura talk about her experiences in public service and how her journey brought her to where she is today! She was talking about her experiences with working in East Africa and Central America, and one advice that she had for students who were interested in social justice was that they should not try “to go the sensible route”. She said that she went to graduate school for Economics and briefly worked at a large corporate real estate firm, and although she had a lot of fun working there, she did not feel “whole” by doing that everyday. And so she suggests that students who feel like they are passionate about a cause that is bigger than themselves shouldn’t try to go for the “safe” careers. But, as Professor Blalock mentioned towards the end of the talk, as much as we’d like to work for free and completely devote ourselves to the public good, there’s also issues of practicality. We still need to pay our bills and feed ourselves, so we could still go towards a “sensible” route and contribute/volunteer through services/skills that we have acquired as a result of our education.
In addition, Laura had given a small speech about going towards a path that you are passionate about. And I completely agree, because I think it’s extremely important to do something that makes you feel like every day is worth living. But an interesting question that one person asked was, “What about the people who are less passionate?” Because sometimes I am so focused on what I am passionate about, it is sometimes so overwhelming that I forget some people are just not really passionate about anything at all. But as Laura mentioned, everyone has something that makes them really happy or really pissed off, whether or not they realize it. And I guess it doesn’t have to start out like a deep, burning passion, but I think it can definitely grow to that point for every single person.
Overall, I’m very glad Laura came to tell us about all the resources that are available to us as Cornell students and residents in Ithaca, because I do hear of a lot of sexual assault that occurs on the campus, so I’m glad that such a support system exists for us. We are very lucky to be here!
Hi Alice!
I also think it is important to choose a path you’re passionate about. Growing up my parents always pushed me towards career choices that had good job outlooks and paid well. But after going down that track for awhile, I found I was very unhappy and decided to change towards something I enjoy. That decision has changed my life drastically, but in the end I’m glad I chose this path I’m on now. I hope that you and others can find the path that’s right for them, Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
I agree with a lot of what you are saying and I would just like to add that while practicality is important, sometimes people justify the lack of practicality with the significance of their work. Perhaps such workers are not able to afford the same quality and amount of things, but they personally feel satisfied because their work justifies their greater sense of morals. Thanks for your thoughts!