visit to the Burke

[rivendellrose]

Today, I finally got around to going to the Burke Museum on my break between my seminar and my poetry class, like I've been telling myself I'd do since... oh, the beginning of the quarter. The Burgess Shale exhibit is leaving on March 6, and I wanted to make sure I could see it before it left, since that little bit of Earth's prehistory has really fascinated me since my oceanography class last year.

Unfortunately, that exhibit was kind of a bust. Some of the fossils were interesting, but they didn't really make up for the huge bits that were directed purely at the noisy horde of children swarming around the museum, or the parents who didn't know a damned thing about that period in history. I had to put my headphones on in order to not start twitching and leave. Good news is, the rest of the museum was as pleasant as I always remember it, although I was pissed that I didn't have a notebook to draw in (I have a weird love of doing scientific-type drawings of skulls, skeletons, and artifacts, so it always annoys me when I forget my book and pencil when going to a museum).

Another little bit of amusement came right as I was coming in - showed the guy at the desk my student ID, and then handed him my backpack, and he looked up and said "oh, I've seen you here before, haven't I?" Not thinking about the fact that I haven't been to the Burke since last spring, I say "yup!" He looks interested. "Are you writing a book?" I must've looked very confused, because he continued, "It looked like you were writing a book, last time, maybe about the Burke?" I say no, I'm just a student... and realize that damn, I really wish I was writing a book like that. I'm not sure what the hell I'd say, but it honestly sounds like a really interesting idea, to me. Not that there aren't probably a dozen and one grad students in Anthropology who could do the same thing with more authority... but it's tempting, nonetheless.

I've been thinking lately that I'd love to write travel books, memoirs, that sort of thing, and I can't help but wonder if that was a bit of a nudge in that direction. It'd be damned fun, and weird as it seems, I realize now that I could start out practicing with writing stuff around home. It's a thought, at least, and it's one that pushes away a bit of the "what the hell am I doing?" kind of feeling that I've been battling so much lately. I've been really feeling the "I don't know who or what I am" kind of sensation, lately, and that's bugging the hell out of me; I haven't properly felt like I knew since highschool, which is weird, 'cause I'm sure as hell happier than I used to be, back then. I just don't know who I am or what I'm headed toward.

I guess there's nothing wrong with that, for now, but I'd definitely like to figure something out, at some point.

Comments

[zodikins.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what I'm doing, or what I'm headed towards, either. I think it's pretty common for us college people to feel that way.

Still, it can be a good thing, because you have so many options.

I, however, am rather overwhelmed. grgh. *blurble*

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Must be. It sure as hell feels like we ought to have a better idea of what we're doing, though, doesn't it? Every time someone asks me "so, what are you going to do when you leave school?" I kind of go "irk. Umm.... I haven't got a fecking clue."

Overwhelmed doesn't begin to describe it. Underwhelmed, too, at times. Fun combination.

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

You'll figure it out, one way or another. You're intelligent, and you've got a good head on your shoulders. When it gets to the point, you'll have it all figured out. I know you will.

Don't feel pressured. There's no real rush, especially since you're not graduating right yet.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I worry about just kind of wandering from one thing to another, or getting to a certain point and then realizing that I want to do something else, but then not being able to do it because I've waited too long. Such fun.

I'm sure I'll figure it out, someday. It's just confusing, at this point.