For a while, I thought that all I wanted in life was freedom and for a while I was about as free as a modern person could be: no debt, no real obligations and no significant financial barriers to things I was interested in doing. However, that degree of freedom meant that I wasn't really invested in anything. I did make some great friends and see and do some incredible things, but eventually for lack of a better description, I got bored. Now, I'm working toward being a person of substance. For the moment, that entails working toward another degree in a field that I feel is important and that I would be happy and possibly well-rewarded in. I imagine that on the way a number of opportunities will arise and those are what I'm really after. If it doesn't work out, then it'll be time to change again. If that happens, I'll at least have more life experience under my belt and another perspective on the kind of life I'd like to lead from then on.
Many people in the situation you say you want to be in are there because they're striving for what you say you're now bored of. I think the fact that you're open-minded in the different circumstances you live your life in--free in the modern sense, substantial to the society, and everything in between-- is a very brave and valuable thing. What opportunities are you looking for exactly?
Well shucks . . . thanks! I don't know that I can pin them down very well at the moment, so I'll have to speak a bit broadly. The field I'm interested in going going to grad school for is organizational psychology and more specifically, conflict resolution. I like conflict resolution because conflict pervades our lives at every level. Most people tend to think of conflict as Conflict, as in wars or border disputes, or other big, bad events, when the truth is, deciding on where to go to eat is also a conflict. Resolving conflict is generally not about compromise (which tends to be a situation where neither party gets what they want) but rather about finding ways for both parties to get what they really want, which is most often not what the parties state what they want. For example, if you and a friend are arguing about where to go to eat and you want to go to one place because you really like the fries there, but he wants to go to another place because he wants to get spaghetti, a possible resolution might be to go get the fries first and then go to the spaghetti place. Some of the opportunities I'd like to find are ways to use my previous experience with working in an international setting and combine that with conflict resolution. With all the trade that goes on between international organizations, whether it be businesses or in peacebuilding, I imagine that there are a lot of ways that conflict resolution can be used to great effect (and hopefully it will pay pretty well). Also, in grad school I'm sure that there will be more opportunities to meet driven and interesting people, especially given the field. I also imagine that I will come into contact with professors with a great deal of personal and professional experience who can help me refine my goals and connect me to people or organizations that will be able to help me to find meaningful work in the kind of capacity I'm interested in. Then of course, there might be opportunities to work with other practitioners of conflict resolution and I'm sure that will have an effect on how I view things as well.
That seems to me likle a quite broad but vital field,. To be honest im just glad someone is investing themselves into something they can apply to themselves as human beings, as opposed to professionals in just that field. Though this is a bit long term relatiely speaking, id be curious to see where that road leads.. If i stick around hubski ling enough for you to get a degree, then keep me posted! :D