You Majored in What? by Katharine Brooks Read Free Book Online Page B

assumptions about work might I have made based on what I heard or observed in my family?
    Summarize any significant messages you’ve received about work from your family: ________________________________________
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    3. HOW DO I DEFINE SUCCESS?
    When you look at the experiences on your Wandering Map that you consider successful, how did you define success? Did it involve winning? Helping others? Achieving?
     
    How might you define success in the future? Complete any of these sentences that appeal to you (no need to do them all):
As my life progresses, I will consider myself successful when I
     
HAVE THIS JOB TITLE: ___________________________________
OWN ____________________________________________________
RETIRE AT AGE ____ IN ______________________ (LOCATION)
USE MY TALENT IN________________ TO ___________________
AM IN LOVE WITH _______________________________________
SPEND MY TIME _________________________________________
VOLUNTEER TO __________________________________________
RECEIVE AN AWARD FOR _________________________________
AM ASKED FOR MY AUTOGRAPH BECAUSE I ________________
HAVE PURSUED __________________________________________
DO______________________________________________________
HAVE__________DOLLARS IN THE BANK OR IN INVESTMENTS
FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH YOUR OWN IDEAS:
__________________________________________________________________
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    Now, reward yourself for the hard work you’ve already done, and relish the order you’re finding in the chaos. You’ve already mined your past for gold; in the next chapter you’re going to get the most from an extremely valuable possession: your brain.

CHAPTER 3
MENTAL WANDERINGS
    YOUR MIND CAN TAKE YOU ANYWHERE OR NOWHERE
The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
    —EDEN PHILLPOTTS, A SHADOW PASSES
     
    THE VALUE OF THINKING
Two college deans stepped off the curb to cross a street when a pickup truck with a gun rack whizzed by, slowing down just long enough for the passenger to lean out the window, look at the two men, and yell, “Hey, smart guys!” before driving on. The two deans looked at each other, unsure how to react. Was that an insult or a compliment?
    O ur society sends mixed messages about being smart. From popular movies such as Dumb and Dumber, the TV show Jackass, and even book series such as _______ for Dummies, we seem to be much more comfortable putting down our thinking power than promoting it. This tendency to downplay intelligence and thinking even rubs off on clearly intelligent career fields like Web development. A popular Web design book title, Don’t Make Me Think, succinctly sums up the prevailing philosophy about Web sites: the worst thing you can do is design a Web site that will require people to think. Part of the problem seems to be that people simply don’t have time to think anymore. We need short and quick Web sites and books that spell out everything so we don’t have to waste our time thinking.
    College is supposed to be a time for thinking, but again, if you watch movies about the college scene ( Animal House anyone?), you sure wouldn’t know it. The students who are serious and thoughtful never seem to be the cool or popular ones. So it’s not surprising that when I ask my students in class what mindsets or types of thinking they’ve developed through their classes, I get blank stares. They’ll tell me they haven’t had time to think about it. Ironic, isn’t it?
    Does the “don’t make me think” philosophy mirror your time in college? Have you been acquiring a lot of knowledge and information without thinking of its value? Are you finding it hard to articulate to employers what you have learned or are not even sure why they’d want to know about your classes? After all, those job