When I was a kid, I used to calculate how long it would take
me to get out of school. If the average student finished high school at
eighteen, and college lasted four years, I should be done by twenty-two. As it turns
out, my life took another direction. I didn’t stop after my undergraduate, and
now I’m studying for my Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.), my second
graduate degree. And when I say I’m studying abroad, I’m actually studying at
an American university this time. I just happen to live overseas.
I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a degree-chaser though.
There are days when I get tired of schoolwork and academia and want to light my
Writer’s Reference book (the one with
all the formats: APA, MLA, etc.) on fire. But as I’m anti-book burning—no
matter the book—I will happily watch it collect dust after graduation instead.
Just kidding! I’ve been thinking about going back for
another degree. (Maybe I am a degree-chaser?) This time, I’m thinking about a
PhD in library sciences. I just have so many questions. Why the Dewey Decimal
System? How is it decided whether a book is deemed a classic and placed in
nonfiction or still a classic and place in fiction? How can I help budding
readers discover the joy of reading?
There are so many things to learn!
That being said, here are just a few things my M.B.A. has
taught me:
Not everybody knows what M.B.A. means.
Me: I’m studying for my M.B.A.
Person: Cool! What’s that in?
Me: …Business.
Person: Oh. Pretend I didn’t just ask that.
(An actual conversation I had.)
I listed it above, but I’ll repeat it—M.B.A stands for Masters
of Business Administration. As a military brat, I’ve had to explain that a
commissary is a grocery store, and as a writer, I’ve had to explain that Deus
ex Machina is the ending of a book that’s solved too easily by some greater
force. Academia also has its own lingo.
I don’t care about grades anymore.
When I said this to one of my classmates, she just stared at
me like I sprouted another head. But it’s true. After studying in England,
where receiving 50 out of 100 is a pass, I’ve learned that it’s not so much the
number but rather the learning experience that counts. Instead of focusing on
achieving a grade, I try to focus on learning something new, whether it’s how
to input finances into an Excel spreadsheet or how to confront an obnoxious
classmate about inappropriate behavior.
It’s okay to change career directions.
I started my M.B.A. with the mindset that it would help me in
the writing industry. Then, I wanted to start my own editing company. Now, I’m
considering opening my own bookstore. I had, in fact, mentioned this final idea
to one of my friends when I first visited Oxford. We were walking along the River
Thames, watching the horses trot across the fields and the weeping willow
branches sway across the water and talking about our dreams and all the
possibilities we could achieve.
Things changed when I started my M.A. in English Literature. I moved to England to learn about stories and dragons, and I did. But I
also learned about how hard it is for bookstores to survive today. I watched
one of the bookstores on one of my college’s campuses close for a while. On
Easter Break, my family and I visited Naples, where we got to walk along via
San Biagio dei librai (“Saint Biagio of the book sellers’ street”), a street
once famous for having hundreds of bookstores but now has only a few. At
school, I borrowed most of my books from the library and bought the copies I
wanted on Amazon or at the school bookshop.
I wondered how independent bookstores today could survive.
Then, I figured it was time to move onto something more
practical than a bookshop and nearly let my dream die.
Just this semester, during my class on marketing, I did one
of my projects on Barnes & Noble and remembered how much I liked the idea
of starting up a bookstore. So I’ve switched from editing, though I still enjoy
it, back to planning on running a bookstore of my own. I spent way more time on
one assignment than was probably necessary, researching and writing a detailed
marketing plan. While I probably could have saved more time and submitted a
less-detailed assignment, I wanted to know what I was getting into.
I didn’t just complete the assignment for the sake of doing
the assignment. I did it for my future business endeavors. During my research,
I even came across an article that explained how independent bookstores in the
United States aren’t actually dying out: “How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com.”
That’s when I came to realize I can do this. I can start up
my own bookstore.
This past year has been quite busy! While I haven’t had
nearly as much time to read lately, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Now that
I only have one class left, and I’m done with one of my jobs, I can get back to
reading and writing regularly.
If you happen to find yourself confronted by a dream that
seems impossible or implausible in the world today, may I just encourage you
with the lyrics from one of my favorite songs:
Every night I lie in bedThe brightest colors fill my head.
A million dreams are keeping me awake.I think of what the world could beA vision of the one I see.A million dreams is all it’s gonna take.A million dreams for the world we're gonna make.(“A Million Dreams,” The Greatest Showman)
I’m working on re-designing my blog. Would you take a minute
to answer my reader-feedback survey?
Let’s chat! What about you? What’s your dream? *cue music
from Tangled* What have you done to
pursue it?
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