Paving The Way To Tomorrow

You know what really grinds my gears?

When people try to discourage you from something you really want to do.

Case in point: I'm a Business Administration major, and after I graduate (and I'd like to graduate magna cum laude, so I'd really better get my ass on the ball and stop all these Friday Night Lights escapades after this semester) I'd like to obtain both my MBA and my JD at the same time.

For those who aren't sure what i'm talking about, MBA is Master's in Business Administration and JD is Juris Doctorate, which is a Doctor of Law.

When people ask me what I'm studying, and I tell them business administration, their favorite question is "What are you going to do with that?", as if there's absolutely NOTHING you can do with a business administration degree.

So when they ask me what I'm going to do with my degree, I say I'm going to go to grad school and get my MBA and law degree.

Their mouths drop open. "Both?!" they may say, with a mix of confusion and disbelief. "That's a lot of years of school."

I know, I retort, which is why I'm going to get both at the same time.

Mouths hit the ground. "Both at the same time?!?!?! Wow...that's a lot of work. Are you sure you can handle it?"

If I didn't think I could handle it, you num nuts, I wouldn't have considered doing it in the first place. But I calmly reply that yes, I'm sure I can handle it. Unless it's humanely impossible, which plenty of people have disproven, then I should be fine.

"So what are you going to do after that?"

I'm going to find a decent damn job, pay my bills, be a good girlfriend/wife to my boyfriend/husband, and STILL have enough money left over for Armani manicures and the sleek black Escalade I've always wanted (with enough money to pay for gas, as well). But instead, I shrug with an "I don't know". Sure, it's a credibility diminishing move, but I don't really feel like continuing this conversation. Plus, whoever I'm talking to has already shown that they aren't terribly supportive, so I just don't think they'd understand my dreams.

"You don't know? Maybe you should start getting an idea, you know, before you go through all that schooling."

And here is where I normally end the conversation. I don't have to know what I want to do with my life yet. That's the joy of being in college: you're allowed to find yourself, try out all sorts of new things that you would have never been exposed to otherwise, and from there you can figure out what you're going to do with the rest of your life. I was able to realize relatively early that I have a liking for business and law. So I'm going to study in school what interests me.

In all reality, I want to be a CEO of a huge Fortune 500 company one day. I want to be one of those super powerful women that call all the shots. Why the law degree? Law degrees are badass. Do you know how nice a JD looks when it's framed next to a super badass MBA? And, I'm also greatly interested in law (which explains why 12 Angry men is one of my favorite movies), so if I can't be a super rich CEO I can at least be a badass lawyer like the ones on Law and Order. Or, if I'm lucky, I get to be a supercool badass corporate or entertainment lawyer, and since I'll understand business I'll be knocking off heads and taking names later.

And this is something I'm doing for myself, not for any num num knucklehead yuk yuks who think they know everything there is to know about succeeding in life.

I appreciate your concern. But as for your advice? Thanks, but no thanks.

I got this.