Sunday, January 2, 2011

it's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do

I don't remember creating this blog but I think it was kind of a blessing in disguise. Tonight I really just wanted to write down exactly how I was feeling. Then I had a 90's-sitcom style flash back to this brief period in middle school when I was determined that I was some kind of closeted genius author and insisted on writing in a notebook every night before bed. Well I found that notebook the other night and let's just say I won't be writing the next great American novel.

Nevertheless, I think it's kind of neat where my life has taken me. I'm no where near the road to becoming a famous writer. In fact, since the last (and only) post my life has actually started down a specific road. I started off my post secondary school studying for a Sociology degree at a school that had everything I wanted, except options. I'm the type of person that expects options. That's my inner diva coming out but I think it's important to know what you like. Anyway, I left that school for a number of reasons. I didn't like sociology, it was too broad and lacked direction. I also didn't like being in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of drunks kids. It was not my element. I started off fresh in 2009 with a new school and new degree. Criminology. Every time I mention to anyone that I'm in criminology I get all kinds of reactions:

"Wow! That sounds so cool! Are you going to be like the detectives on CSI?"


"So you're going to be a cop right?"


or the never failing "Do you get to go on field trips to morgues and crime scenes?"

So here is my explanation. Criminology is the study of the social aspects around the Criminal Justice System (CJS - I use this abbreviation a lot). The study can be about prisons, the justice system, young offenders, health care, mental illness, disease, intervention, community issues, etc. And to be completely honest I'm only skimming the surface. There are legitimate theories and various schools of thought and approaches to criminology. It's pretty interesting and I'm really loving it.

The standard question that follows that explanation is usually
"So what kind of jobs does that lead to?"

Well, the options are pretty vast. Think of it this way, as long as there are people committing crimes there will always be a need for someone to work with them (i.e. probation officers, police officers, lawyers, public defenders, psychologists, prison guards, etc) and not only within crime, I will technically have earned a Bachelor of Social Science which is pretty darn cool if I don't say so myself.

Where am I going? Well hopefully I'll be able to weasel my way into teacher's college. Wait up. Criminology to teacher's college? Well see this is kind of where I might have created a bump in my own career path. I wanted to be a teacher from the beginning and was accepted into many programs for early childhood education. I chose not to pursue these programs because they seemed to be very specific and I worried at age 17 that I'd have a change of heart. Well I haven't really changed my mind but I suppose I appreciate that I have options. If all goes according to plan, this summer I'll work in my aunt's school and get some experience working with kids. Then somewhere down the road I hope to be able to work with at risk youth or become some kind of counselor.

Now that the formalities of discussing school are out of the way I feel like it's time to get to the nitty gritty that is the thoughts and crap that pops into my head.

Until next time...

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