Sunday, January 04, 2009

New Year's Resolution!

When I applied to university, I did so not knowing what I wanted to do when I got there. I didn’t want to be a doctor because sick people gross me out, I didn’t want to be a lawyer because Tucker Max couldn’t do it (which means I wouldn’t be able to either), besides I was going to be a surfer and all this stuff didn’t really matter anyway. I was going to college because it's what was expected of a young genius like myself and I saw it as an opportunity to party on my dad's dime for a few years. So I did what all the boys and girls do when they want to go to college to waste time and do drugs, I marked the undeclared box! 

It’s July of 2001 and I am in NYC for orientation. I have a lot of friends at a neighboring school that are about to throw this massive party and I want to be there BADLY! Orientation all morning had been so dull that I’d decided I was going to sneak out during our lunch break and spend the rest of the afternoon drinking so I could get an early start on college life. Right as I was finalizing these plans in my head, a woman walked up to me and totally FUCKED MY SHIT UP!

Evil woman: Are you RGB?
Me: Yes, how can I help you?
Evil woman: We finished reviewing your transcripts along with approving your AP credits and have determined you have enough credits to be considered a second semester sophomore.
Me: Wow! I haven’t even started college and I am already halfway done! So what does this mean?
Evil woman: We noticed you are coming to us as “undeclared” you only have a semester of GE units you would need to take so it would be in your best interests if you selected a major and met with the department advisors today.

This is when she handed me a binder full of sign-up sheets. Basically all the people who had selected a major were meeting with their department advisors to discuss their class schedules and such. Looking down at the book I noticed that because I was getting this so late in the game my chances of making it to the party were slim to none. I skimmed the entire binder and I noticed that while all the pre-med sciences and liberal arts departments were 10 pages long, the engineering and applied sciences weren’t so bad. Upon closer scrutiny I noticed there were only 4 people meeting with the CS department and since my education really didn’t matter to me anyway, I decided I was going to major in CS.

So I met with the CS advisor and set up my class schedule. He was very surprised to match me with my transcripts because I come off as the biggest stoner idiot when ANYBODY first meets me. I am a dichotomy and I have come to accept my place in life as the unsuspecting genius masquerading as a Bill & Ted wanabe. To make a long story short, I took potentially devastating news that would have ruined my entire day and truncated it into an extra hour and a half. NEVER for a second believing that one day I might actually need my education to find gainful employment out there in the real world. That’s right people, you heard it here first! I chose my education based on a party I didn’t want to be late to.

I guess this brings me to my New Year’s Resolution! I have always let my surfboard define me and EVERYTHING I do. From determining the people I choose to be my friends to deciding the way I live, every decision comes right back to my surfboard. I always knew I would grow up to be a surfer, I never considered any other options, and because of that I never really felt the need to take anything seriously from my education that took me 5 years to complete (even though I could have finished it in 2), to my career and my aspirations for life that I abandon and change every couple weeks. What I want to do this year, more than anything else, is to grow up. 2008 was all about me turning my back on opportunity after opportunity that other people would KILL to have. So this year for 2009, I want to grow up, suck it up, and deal!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You got a degree in computer science to make it to a party on time. LOLz! It is no wonder you hate computers so much and don't want to work with them. Would you say it is too late to go back to school and try something else out?

Anonymous said...

I wrote a bunch of potential majors on small pieces of paper then put them in a hat and picked one.

Trevor said...

I guess I can see how you may think you are being irresponsible but it's also extremely brave to walk away from opportunities you don't feel right doing. Many people stick with things they hate just because they don't have the courage to get up and walk away like you do. Don't trap yourself into doing something you hate because you think it's the adult thing to do! Who the hell do we know that's actually an adult anyway!?

Unknown said...

was it worth it?