"This Is An Open Call" (OR "Radical Social Work")

It would seem that I haven't been on the internet in quite a while! Indeed, this is true. It is actually probably a good thing and means that I have been spending more time in the real world doing real things - like hanging out with people! Alas, this is not true. Unless by "real world" I meant "the library" and by "real people" I meant "textbooks" and by "doing real things" i meant "studying until my brain leaks out my ears."

Well, studying and figuring out "life." Life! Like, what does it all mean? And, what am I going to do with it? According to actuarial tables and a palm reader, I have a lot of life left. So I decided to do what all doubting college students do in a time of crisis: I went to the student career center* and talked with my parents and talked with my professors and talked with my undergraduate course advisor! I got quite a range of suggestions. I have a request for all y'all, and it is at the bottom of the post if you can't make it through the whole post.

*Dudes, I am not THAT kind of college student. I am legit. I am the real deal. I am studying a lot. Ok, I am sort of lying. I am not studying ALL THE TIME (a girl has got to eat). But but I am still studying A LOT.

First, I went to the career center. "My future sociology degree - what do I do with it?" I asked. "More importantly, how can I use it to get at least two meals a day after this whole "college" deal is over?" and "Even more importantly, can you get me a part time job for next semester? Because I need to reel in some cash-money right now."

And so she looked at my resume and gave me a lot of websites and told me how to write a cover letter and told me to talk to the sociology department about the whole "career" thing. And to make another appointment, because we REALLY REALLY need to work on my resume.

So, Sociology Department, ahoy!! I have yet to talk to the head of sociology and go all, "Dude, you said you were offering the "Sociology of the City" course this semester and now you're not, what gives?" but I did indeed get a chance to talk to one of my sociology professors. We'll call her prof. B. She is an A++ in my book because she knows everything about everything and has a good sense of humor about it, but I digress.

I explained to her, "I really see myself going back to my hometown and doing things there. Like ... " I took a deeeeep breath in and explained my ideas. A lot of them. Not all of them. All of them would take too much time. I ended it with "Like, I just, like, really want to help." Which I consider was an excellent flourish. It truly exemplified my academic achievement over the past decade and a half of schooling. I am being a little sarcastic.

Anyway, she gave me two suggestions: quit school now and do it OR get a PhD. (The PhD would lend legitimacy to my program and aid in getting funding and achieving legitimacy for my observations.)

So I can get a PhD. I can quit school now. I can get a bachelors and angle all my studying toward cities, gardens and the like. I can get city-focused internships. I can read and read and read and read.

SOMETHING is telling me that my parents MIGHT NOT BE COOL with me dropping out of college. So I figure that I'm going to go ahead and stay in school. I am probably not going to get a PhD because, let's be real, those things cost CASHMONEY and I am currently lacking in CASHMONEY. So I think I am going to go scrounge around for internships and part time jobs and read and read and read and read about everything and anything related to cities and gardening.

So, given what I have written, I am totally open to reading suggestions from you internet people. You Internet People. Like, what has dramatically shaped your views on cities or society that you think would help my own understanding of it?