This summer I did a great deal of self-evaluation. I thought about the upcoming experience of being a senior and the culmination of a very pleasant little educational track that benevolent forces had seemed to guide me along. But what comes next? A gaping empty future? A frightening prospect indeed.
So I got to thinking ... perhaps I can learn from others who have undergone similar predicaments. I can't be the first senior to exist in the history of collegiate institutions. Looking into it further I realized that in fact many seniors preceded me. Seniors who blossomed into working individuals, seeking higher education, pursuing their passions (or not) and earning wages to support their life needs -- or in many cases, salaries that far surpass anything remotely resembling life needs.
How did they do this, I pondered. Peggy Curchack tipped me off on some "excellent opportunities in corporate law." Corporate law? But I hate corporations! They crush the little guy and co-opt radical ideas by manipulating them into commercial slogans.
Hmm ... as I read Curchack's missive over, I must admit I was intrigued. Money. Only three more years in school. Money. Importance. Some more money. Corporate law looked comforting (if you can withstand the high pressure and tedium) because it is easy to distance yourself from what you are participating in. But are there repercussions? If so, who do they effect?
Take copyright law, for example. If I help a large corporation sue a 15 year-old kid for downloading some music -- which in a certain light seems to impede the corporation's financial growth or stability -- am I really contributing anything to society? Maybe I'm just helping screw over a 15 year-old kid, thereby making an example of him.
Other types of corporate law prove equally tricky. I feel like it would be reductive to mention Walmart here, but they give me no choice. So briefly... Exploited American workers who are underpaid, denied medical coverage and a union voice, discriminated against by gender, race and ethnicity, and we have yet to broach the subject of outsourced sweatshop labor.
Needless to say, I have ruled out corporate law as a future career direction. I feel relieved ... like I really dodged a bullet. I'm not going to deny that I was deeply tempted. And yes, my bank account would be reliably stable under such an existence. But how could I be happy with the weight of my lies bearing down on my conscience? I'd have to become a Republican to justify my existence. That would be sad. Deeply sad.
After all, we'd like to believe that it is in our interests to preclude many of the mysteries and uncertainties that await us ... when we have to subsist on our own dollar. Perhaps the fear of not knowing has already facilitated much social stagnation and regression. In the end, it is our choice no longer to participate in this.
