The other day I began to reflect on my current career path and realized how far I had veered from my original dream. As I have stated in previous posts, when I was young I decided to become a civil rights lawyer just like Thurgood Marshall. I would fight injustice through the courts and help bring about racial reconciliation. These issues are still dear to me, and are quite relevant in the current political landscape. Nevertheless, my present career interests, while not diametrically opposed to my original dreams, seem to be moving me farther away from these dreams than I anticipated. Yet, I do not want to feel obligated to my previous dream, especially since my life appears to be pulling me somewhere else. Holding this tension in my head between the old and the new (which may explain the tension headache I’ve had the last week), I began to wonder if launching into another career field meant that I was wasting my previous education?
As I pondered this question, I began to view my education and experiences differently. I realized that just because I am not using these tools in the manner I originally envision does not mean that they cannot be useful in another capacity.
My law degree, for instance taught me to “think like a lawyer,” which allows me to perceive problems and solutions in a manner differently than non-lawyer. The same holds true for my education in the humanities. Studying race, religion and their intersection, affords me different perspective on how to perceive society that is balanced, and in tension with my legal education. Now, as a talent manager, I am often called upon to utilize the critical thinking skills honed by my education. As a result I am better able to serve my clients because of my diverse educational background in a way that is unique and I hope innovative. Thus, while my training did not prepare me to become Thurgood Marshall like I had dreamed, it has nonetheless prepared me to become Brooke Girley, and nothing has been wasted.
Ultimately, what I have come to understand is that when we live life purposefully and not simply allow life to happen to us, no education we obtain or experience we endure will be wasted. We are aided and shaped by our experiences and education, whether we understand or appreciate it. As long as you utilize and call upon the knowledge you have learned along the way, then nothing shall be wasted.
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
