Today begins the last week of the semester. That means papers to grade and goodbyes to be said to my students who are graduating. The professional landscape they are entering is fluid and changing because of technology and the disintegrating boundaries of how one defines work. These newly minted professionals are simultaneously excited yet scared about the enormity of possibility. This year for the first time in a very long time I can relate to these feelings. After many years of feeling at the top of my game, this last semester in particular I have encountered new opportunities in a different arena that meant different kinds of decisions to make, different kinds of boundaries to maintain, different ethical questions to answer, different fears to overcome and different kinds of risks and benefits and to analyze. Often feeling like a neophyte, I have “played it by ear”. So far, no major missteps or mistakes, nothing I regret.
I am looking forward now to the upcoming break, having the time to review, daydream and envision. First order of business a real vacation. Next, in order to get to the top of this game, I need to push the limits of the technology skills I have now so perhaps a course or two. Even better, some long sessions with a smart, tech savvy intern. I have ideas for editorials, some writing projects and maybe even a book. I want to make my blog look more like a magazine. These ideas are still shadow-like, not fully formed, just a suggestion. Unlike my current and previous careers where much of what I do/did and is/was circumscribed by others, what this new project becomes is entirely up to me. I have been passive thus far, waiting for things to come to me, partly because I did not know what to ask for or what to pitch. Partly because of fear. As I tell my graduates that these feelings of anticipation and trepidation are just the right feelings to have in their situation, my words ring in my own ears too.
What makes you simultaneously scared and excited?
Nearly everything worth doing…
You said it all!
Living life to the fullest, taking risks, leaving no stone unturned, just going for it. . .
A great description of a life worth living.
Living life to the fullest, taking risks, leaving no stone unturned, just going for it. . .
A great description of a life worth living.
Thoughts of leaving security for the work that I really want to do. Afraid I’m too old, don’t know enough, and if I build it they won’t necessarily come. Good luck with what sounds like a wonderful beginning and a good way to spend the summer.
Oh my it sounds like you are the voice in my head! Let’s share some courage.
Thoughts of leaving security for the work that I really want to do. Afraid I’m too old, don’t know enough, and if I build it they won’t necessarily come. Good luck with what sounds like a wonderful beginning and a good way to spend the summer.
Oh my it sounds like you are the voice in my head! Let’s share some courage.
Judy I feared growing older and not being able to do what I want physically .Retirement from Interior Design scared me because I loved my work and was always fully engaged creatively, intellectually and socially.Retired 3 years ago and immediately discovered a mad,passionate obsession with sculpting figures in clay.The clay community is warm ,stimulating and supportive.I am fully engaged!Good luck to you!I really enjoy your blog .
Hope and inspiration! Thanks for the encouragement.
I teach social work and social welfare.
Judy I feared growing older and not being able to do what I want physically .Retirement from Interior Design scared me because I loved my work and was always fully engaged creatively, intellectually and socially.Retired 3 years ago and immediately discovered a mad,passionate obsession with sculpting figures in clay.The clay community is warm ,stimulating and supportive.I am fully engaged!Good luck to you!I really enjoy your blog .
Hope and inspiration! Thanks for the encouragement.
What do you teach?
I teach social work and social welfare.
Interesting…my body might be feeling the loss of that soothing rhythm of a structured routine. No more being cradled and rocked.
I feel just like this about my "retirement" from my part time job.Although my joy comes from my creative work,there is a comfort in the routine of a daily office job where the tasks are largely defined and there is a paycheque every month.Excited but scared sums it up well
Interesting…my body might be feeling the loss of that soothing rhythm of a structured routine. No more being cradled and rocked.
Part of it is just inevitable somehow accepting that helps with the fear.
I’m excited about the aging process, looking at each year bringing me more wisdom and confidence. At the same time, I’m afraid that there isn’t as much commitment, research and funding for degenerative diseases that are happening with my generation. That said, I do appreciate the new bio-technology efforts in the field of medicine and know that many future generations will benefit.
Part of it is just inevitable somehow accepting that helps with the fear.
First of all, I want to let you know how inspiring your blog has been for me. Your plans for it sound wonderful and I hope you consider submissions from women who live the interesting and ordinary lives you describe.
What makes me scared and excited? Those are two feelings I long to re-experience; I remember them, but they were lost for me the with usual tragedies that occur in life. Those two emotions are the enlivening hope for an enriching personal life. And what is required for a personal life? The comment by Elena Poniaskowski in the Village Voice’s PEN insert about how the injustice of Mexico has eaten her up and prevented her from concentrating on a personal style of writing has stayed with me all week. As I have gotten older, it is not enough to live for myself, I want to be strong and cultivated, a an example to others. So perhaps, scared and excited are emotions from my youth which I want to replace with a grave joy. I want the joy of art and aesthetic thought to sustain me through the disappointment of politics and injustice.
Thanks so much for your eloquent words and the wonderful suggestion that I feature other women writers. The example you gave from PEN is very profound. The term you use "grave joy" is a feeling I have often felt as a social worker and I am so grateful to have a name for it.
I would love to hear more about why you made this choice as I am very interested in fashion writing.
First of all, I want to let you know how inspiring your blog has been for me. Your plans for it sound wonderful and I hope you consider submissions from women who live the interesting and ordinary lives you describe.
What makes me scared and excited? Those are two feelings I long to re-experience; I remember them, but they were lost for me the with usual tragedies that occur in life. Those two emotions are the enlivening hope for an enriching personal life. And what is required for a personal life? The comment by Elena Poniaskowski in the Village Voice’s PEN insert about how the injustice of Mexico has eaten her up and prevented her from concentrating on a personal style of writing has stayed with me all week. As I have gotten older, it is not enough to live for myself, I want to be strong and cultivated, a an example to others. So perhaps, scared and excited are emotions from my youth which I want to replace with a grave joy. I want the joy of art and aesthetic thought to sustain me through the disappointment of politics and injustice.
Thanks so much for your eloquent words and the wonderful suggestion that I feature other women writers. The example you gave from PEN is very profound. The term you use "grave joy" is a feeling I have often felt as a social worker and I am so grateful to have a name for it.
The thought of changing my major from fashion merchandising to journalism next fall is slightly unnerving, but I believe it will better prepare me for that side of the fashion industry..
I would love to hear more about why you made this choice as I am very interested in fashion writing.
What a delicious moment, full of possibility and potential heartbreak.
Nothing scares and excites me more than hearing someone else speculate a boy has a crush on me, nothing to do with fashion but it can sometimes create a temptation…
http://secret-hipster.blogspot.com.au/
What a delicious moment, full of possibility and potential heartbreak.
Getting old makes me simultaneously scared and excited. Do we really grow up?
Getting old makes me simultaneously scared and excited. Do we really grow up?
How amazing that all these opportunities and possibilities are open to us. Some of the most inspirational people I know are in their late 80s and their vibrancy is in part due to their ability to embrace new things but in particular they relish spending time with the younger generation. Nothing is more exciting.
How amazing that all these opportunities and possibilities are open to us. Some of the most inspirational people I know are in their late 80s and their vibrancy is in part due to their ability to embrace new things but in particular they relish spending time with the younger generation. Nothing is more exciting.
Each time I’ve changed direction the scared and exited sensation kicks in and I have an image of myself walking the plank, I have to create a situation that gives me that final poke in the back to jump. Early in my life art history and stage acting were my twin passions but life events and the need to earn money intervened and meant retraining as a psychological therapist which set other fires burning. Having children certainly meets the scared and exited criteria and as I’m learning now they are all in their twenties a sensation which never leaves! But most recently I walked the plank again and took early retirement from my mental health job to go back to acting and bloody hell is it scary and exiting in equal measure but more rejuvenating than any beauty treatment or endless hours talking about getting older. I think your transition is brilliant Lynn discovering a new love at our age is exhilarating, for me it has been screen acting – I’d only ever been on stage – and I love it. I’m so looking forward to what you do next!
Each time I’ve changed direction the scared and exited sensation kicks in and I have an image of myself walking the plank, I have to create a situation that gives me that final poke in the back to jump. Early in my life art history and stage acting were my twin passions but life events and the need to earn money intervened and meant retraining as a psychological therapist which set other fires burning. Having children certainly meets the scared and exited criteria and as I’m learning now they are all in their twenties a sensation which never leaves! But most recently I walked the plank again and took early retirement from my mental health job to go back to acting and bloody hell is it scary and exiting in equal measure but more rejuvenating than any beauty treatment or endless hours talking about getting older. I think your transition is brilliant Lynn discovering a new love at our age is exhilarating, for me it has been screen acting – I’d only ever been on stage – and I love it. I’m so looking forward to what you do next!
I love your style.
I love your style.