The socialism of intelligence

A line has been crossed- a straw has broken a camel's back- someone has talked about Fight Club. Something must be done. And so action will be taken.

You may be wondering what on Earth I am talking about. And that's a fair question to ask. And in no way am I trying to stretch this part out as I frantically search for an answer to appease your curiosity. That is so far beneath me, it's not even funny. I'm a college graduate, for crying out loud- a social worker nonetheless...are you still here? You are? Hrmm...well, I guess I could get to the point.

A while back, in one of my epic blog posts, I wrote about how just because I was graduating college, I wasn't done learning. You might remember it because I'm a pretty memorable person. And if you forgot, that's fine- I hyperlinked so you can read it again and remember how inspired you were to become a better, smarter person.

Well, it's been 6 months...and I think it's time. I had a legitimate excuse before- I was working over 40 hours a week at a job that left me an emotional and intellectual zombie. I had no energy, desire, or passion for learning- I just wanted to make it through the days...weeks...months. I am no longer at that job. The job I have now is like the anti-job of that job.

Now that I'm starting to feel that my sense of self has been restored, it's time to take it to new and uncharted territories. And as much fun as it is to be a quarterback, or an assassin, or Batman...it's also something that needs a little moderation. It's time to spend a little less time on the PS3 (not too much...come on now- it's a PS3! People kill for these things!) and a little more time getting smarter.

I made a commitment, not only to myself- but to my social work cohort and to my family, and to all those people who have believed in me and sacrificed to help me to get to where I am- and that commitment was to continue to learn as much as I could about my trade, and to constantly be moving forward as a human being.

And just what is my trade? The easy answer would be to say 'social work'...but I'm not all about easy. Well, that's not entirely true- I'm actually a unique composition of hard work and easy street. I suspect that most of us are.

As I wrote about in this other awesome blog post that you might actually remember (or at least alluded to), I am not sure I want to do social work for a living. This does not mean, however, that I don't want to be a social worker, or that I just wasted thousands of dollars and years of my life. My experience with the idea of social work is that it is the profession of being a compassionate human being- and that is what I want to be, all the time, regardless of my profession. It is that end that I intend to turn my pursuits towards.

Maybe I am just in denial...or withdrawal...or some type of 'al'. In the big scheme of things, there is much that I don't know- there are so many questions, things to ponder- and a wife and children to keep in mind. Right now I have the luxury of not having to necessarily make a decision. And hopefully I can learn more about myself (and my place within the context of humanity) in that time period. Maybe at that time, my life path will be lit up like the Griswold home on Christmas.

Meanwhile...I plan to start re-reading one of my college textbooks to kick start my learning siesta. It's called Counseling Diverse Clients, by Jeanne M. Slattery. This book has been a life changer, to say the least. I can't say it's brought me tons of new information per se...but it has brought into order many loose thoughts and ideas that I had, and has given me a firm foundation in the realm of context. I've talked about context before, and I will be sharing more on it in the coming indefinite time period.

My idea is to share with you, for free, the ideas and thoughts that were shared with me in an institution of higher learning. It might be a little socialistic...but then again, I am a socialismopath. If I even create a ripple, then the whole lake will be affected. And if I don't create a ripple? Then maybe the hot air that I'm spewing will set fire to the butterfly before it flaps its wings.