Wasting My Degree?

It is really interesting whenever I enter into a conversation with someone about the goals and roads that I am walking towards/on. I have had a few people wonder aloud whether I am wasting my degree by not applying it to an occupation somehow right out of college. Of course what they mean is wasting it in the sense that it will not be making me any extra money in itself.

Where I disagree is in the notion that I will not be using it. Sure the piece of paper will have little effect on my career (at least in my short-sighted view from here), however I have obtained absolutely priceless knowledge of the human mind and interpersonal interactions.

I had an extremely entertaining conversation with a friend tonight about a realization I had. I was talking about my insatiable appetite for new music. I find on average two new artists to listen to every week. Not full albums or anything like that, simply single songs or perhaps a couple. What I am doing is finding a hook into the artist, something that will bring me back when I have more time or the right mood, and at that point I can dive deeper into their full sound.

So I was thinking about this fact that I am constantly seeking new experiences in music: quickly assessing my initial interest and either diving in or moving on. The really intriguing realization that I had was that I am veeeeery similar in my interactions with people. I am constantly meeting new people - I say hi to most unfamiliar faces. I can say with certainty that I meet at least two new people every week (I met five last night, three on Friday night, I'm way over that estimate it would seem).

I love to meet new people - and in some weird way I treat them similarly to my music library. People that grab my attention immediately I dive right into. Some don't grab me in quite that way and so I move on for the time being, until time or mood strikes me to investigate further. Much like my musical taste, I love to meet people of all backgrounds and places. There is nothing like being surprised at my liking of something I did not anticipate to enjoy at all.

This friend that I was conversing with agreed that her relationship with music is also very analogous to her relationships with people, and we agreed that most people must be this way (from our very limited and egocentric survey, ha)

Of course there are those people, just as songs, that I keep for a very long time indeed. There are songs that I have loved and listen to and still love as much as I did the first time I heard them. There are other songs that I have loved and grown out of. There are songs I have never heard and may never hear. That is the beautiful picture for me to explore, everyday that I live. How awesome is God.

In case you are wondering about the new (to me) artists this week, I'll list three I was really happy with and plan to explore further, as well as my favorite songs by them:

Menomena
-Oahu (I Am the Fun Blame Monster!)
-The Pelican (Friend and Foe)
-Wet and Rusting (Friend and Foe)

Beirut
-My Night with the Prostitute From Marseille (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)
-Venice (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)
-No Dice (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)

J. Tillman
-Steel On Steel (Vacilando Territory Blues)
-Firstborn (Vacilando Territory Blues)
-No Occasion (Vacilando Territory Blues)



I had a bunch more artists I could have put down, this week was definitely fruitful in that respect. There will be more to come in the future for sure ;)