College (pt2)
Left-Brain
About To Be Homeless
As my second year of college wound to a close, I still had no viable options for employment during the summer break.
The prior year, I had worked for the St Cloud Street Department doing all kinds a assorted flagging and clean up jobs. And that was still on the table - but I just hadn't been that excited about going back and doing that again.
And just like the previous summer, moving back home to the triple bunk bed was just not an option I was considering (at all).
So the left-brain was busy thinking:
- How am I going to pay the bills?
- Should I be looking for work more actively?
- What happens if I don't find something soon?
- Then what?
Last Minute Opportunity
With just a day or so left before school ended and I was out on my ear for good, a bandmate friend from high school called and told me he'd seen an ad in a local paper about a recording studio in town that was looking for an engineer and he knew that was something I'd shown an interest in.
And, my first thought was that, although it sounded intriguing, I had absolutely no experience at all, and therefore absolutely not a snowball's chance in hell at anything like this.
I might as well just head over to the Street Department tomorrow and get that squared away.
Right-Brain
On The Other Hand
But, the other side of my brain --the one that wasn't worried about any of this--not about not finding a job, or where I was going to live or how I was going to eat. Didn't care!
It didn't give 2 shits about taking a swing at, what appeared to be, a completely hopeless endeavour.
Because what were they going to say anyway? No. Ooh. . .scary. Let's do it.
The Impetuousness of Youth
Although there are a lot of downsides to it, one of the big advantages of being young and cocky is that, even though you know you have absolutely no experience at something, you also tend to think that you can do anything.
Combine that with the fact that you also have nothing to lose (since I already knew I'd be back at the Street Department anyway), so hey - why not take a run at it?
It's funny to think about it now, but there was no thought of embarrassment, or failure or anything.
Just -- "Why the heck not?"