An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.' The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.' Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
21.2.12
Loving Yourself
This is a cute story I found, which I am quickly posting since I'm continuously failing to balance my blogging with my school life:
11.1.12
Education Improves Your Chances (and other myths of our generation)
said...
JANUARY 10, 2012 4:09 PM
said...
REALIST:
As an undergrad engineering major, I interned at a industrial research lab. My boss had a PhD and grumbled that all of the decisions about what he got to research were made by his boss, who had a MBA. That insight led me to earn my own MBA after engineering school.
While I was in my MBA program, our economics professor was explaining to us the concept of opportunity cost. He mentioned that those students who pursued a PhD in economics would never make the same money as the MBA students. Which prompted me to ask in class, "So the Economic PhD's actually failed to understand economics". My comment did not endear me to him.
Many of us working in industry have MS or MBA's that lead to well paying jobs across a wide assortment of careers. If you're not happy in your graduate program, take a look around you and see what opportunities may be awaiting you.
I still enjoy hitting my public library weekly to read up on my interests in history, culture, politics, science, etc. It's more fun, because it's unrelated to my job.
I now have a daughter in college, and what I told her was "If it's fun to do, they're not going to pay you much to do it." Pointless Credentials said...
I recently rethought our North American obsession with credentials when I saw this video about tribal people learning how to do dentistry in under two weeks.
http://itecusa.org/i-dent-video.html
Some people just have a natural ability to do things. Some countries don't seem to be so obsessed with the sheepskin on the wall. STEM Doctor said... The politicians are still operating under the delusion that everyone must go to college. If this actually happens, I'm sure that teaching those introductory composition courses is going to become even more of a thrill for the English graduate students. Anonymous said...
This reason points to a reality that is lost on most middle-class people with academic aspirations.
It's hard for them to wrap their brains around the fact that their high school math teachers who eat tuna sandwiches in the teacher's lounge and drive beat-up cars to work every day could possibly be living more comfortably than someone with "professor" in their job title.
It does not compute.
In their minds, professors are in the upper middle class, drive European cars, live in the nice part of town, hobnob with other people who "matter," vacation abroad, have season tickets to the ballet, etc.
Even grad students buried up to their eyeballs in their dissertations cling to this idea. They almost have to believe it to keep them going.
When reality sets in, and you find yourself envying your old teachers with their tuna sandwiches (on whom you once looked with a certain measure of contempt), you realize how hoodwinked you've been. (From 100 Reasons Not to Go to Grad Schools' "75. You can make more money as a schoolteacher" comments)
This is yet another reason to avoid law school. If you are a 22 year old with zero debt, you have the dignity that comes from knowing you don't owe anyone anything.
Why ruin that by taking on a bunch of debt?
Why ruin that by taking on a bunch of debt?
22 year olds don't think that way.....they are constantly sold the education improves your chances myth.
-----------------------------------------------
Anonymous said...
As an undergrad engineering major, I interned at a industrial research lab. My boss had a PhD and grumbled that all of the decisions about what he got to research were made by his boss, who had a MBA. That insight led me to earn my own MBA after engineering school.
While I was in my MBA program, our economics professor was explaining to us the concept of opportunity cost. He mentioned that those students who pursued a PhD in economics would never make the same money as the MBA students. Which prompted me to ask in class, "So the Economic PhD's actually failed to understand economics". My comment did not endear me to him.
Many of us working in industry have MS or MBA's that lead to well paying jobs across a wide assortment of careers. If you're not happy in your graduate program, take a look around you and see what opportunities may be awaiting you.
I still enjoy hitting my public library weekly to read up on my interests in history, culture, politics, science, etc. It's more fun, because it's unrelated to my job.
I now have a daughter in college, and what I told her was "If it's fun to do, they're not going to pay you much to do it."
http://itecusa.org/i-dent-video.html
Some people just have a natural ability to do things. Some countries don't seem to be so obsessed with the sheepskin on the wall.
It's hard for them to wrap their brains around the fact that their high school math teachers who eat tuna sandwiches in the teacher's lounge and drive beat-up cars to work every day could possibly be living more comfortably than someone with "professor" in their job title.
It does not compute.
In their minds, professors are in the upper middle class, drive European cars, live in the nice part of town, hobnob with other people who "matter," vacation abroad, have season tickets to the ballet, etc.
Even grad students buried up to their eyeballs in their dissertations cling to this idea. They almost have to believe it to keep them going.
When reality sets in, and you find yourself envying your old teachers with their tuna sandwiches (on whom you once looked with a certain measure of contempt), you realize how hoodwinked you've been.
Comments
Hey, readers: you are allowed and encouraged to comment on my posts! A number of you have spoken with me IRL or through other messaging services about my posts (you know who you are!), and while I love talking about these things in multiple ways, I'd really appreciate it if more people participated in my blog directly. I think your feedback is useful not just for my eyes and ears but also for my fellow readers. And then everyone can contribute, and the world spins madly on (which is a good song, by the way).
For help, if you need it: there is a link at the bottom of each post that says, "x comments," with x being the number of current comments. Click on that link, scroll to where it says, "post a comment," type your comment in the box, and then select how you want to comment as. Note: you don't need a Blogger account. At minimum, you can choose "Anonymous."
For help, if you need it: there is a link at the bottom of each post that says, "x comments," with x being the number of current comments. Click on that link, scroll to where it says, "post a comment," type your comment in the box, and then select how you want to comment as. Note: you don't need a Blogger account. At minimum, you can choose "Anonymous."
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| This one... |
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| ...or this one?! |
kthxbyeluvluv :3
8.1.12
Money
People who say, "Money doesn't matter," are part of one or more of these cohorts:
1) the delusional,
2) the rich,
3) the enlightened buddhas of this world,
4) the nuns,
5) other religious figures who have truly reached a state of peace,
6) other religious figures who secretly reel in the dough through their corrupt institutions,
7) indigenous tribes, or
8) other people who live within economic systems that don't use money (maybe they barter instead).
Note that, other than genuine religious figures or people of different economic systems, people who actually have no money are not listed.
Do homeless people beg you to have no money either, or for you to give them money (or things that money can buy, such as food, shelter, etc.)?
To my privileged classmates who have always had a roof over their head and a Beamer in their garage, it's cute that you criticize me for not being a 'true intellectual' because I am 'chickening out' and not pursuing the 'life of the mind.' I can very well give myself "mental masturbation" (in my professor's most erudite words) with Kant after a hard day's work. Like most people who are just as smart and usually more mature than you, I can't afford to do it all day for my goal, and that's my reality.
[That is, until you hit $75k/year. Then yeah, more money doesn't matter... kinda. Well, for me at least.]
/endrant
P.S. I'd love to compare happiness levels of countries later on. Fun tidbit from above article:
2) the rich,
3) the enlightened buddhas of this world,
4) the nuns,
5) other religious figures who have truly reached a state of peace,
6) other religious figures who secretly reel in the dough through their corrupt institutions,
7) indigenous tribes, or
8) other people who live within economic systems that don't use money (maybe they barter instead).
Note that, other than genuine religious figures or people of different economic systems, people who actually have no money are not listed.
Do homeless people beg you to have no money either, or for you to give them money (or things that money can buy, such as food, shelter, etc.)?
To my privileged classmates who have always had a roof over their head and a Beamer in their garage, it's cute that you criticize me for not being a 'true intellectual' because I am 'chickening out' and not pursuing the 'life of the mind.' I can very well give myself "mental masturbation" (in my professor's most erudite words) with Kant after a hard day's work. Like most people who are just as smart and usually more mature than you, I can't afford to do it all day for my goal, and that's my reality.
[That is, until you hit $75k/year. Then yeah, more money doesn't matter... kinda. Well, for me at least.]
/endrant
P.S. I'd love to compare happiness levels of countries later on. Fun tidbit from above article:
- "...Americans come out as a bit of a mixed lot: they're fifth in terms of happiness, 33rd in terms of smiling and 10th in terms of enjoyment. At the same time, they're the 89th biggest worriers, the 69th saddest and fifth most stressed people out of the 151 nations studied. Even so, perhaps because of the country's general wealth, they are in the top 10 citizenries where people feel their lives are going well, beaten out by such eternal optimists as the Canadians, New Zealanders and Scandinavians."
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