Jeff's thoughts on Sir Ken

I came to college to figure out what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. What work I'm going to do for the rest of my life. I've been told many times to find what I love to do and make it my job. If I do what I love it won't seem like work and the money will come easily. Yet society doesn't put value in my passions. It puts value in sciences and maths. I'm not going to force myself to be interested in either no matter how lucrative they are. I'm simply not the greedy. Although one day I am going to have to face the working world, say goodbye to my parents and support myself somehow.

Sir Ken's discussion on the academic community's perceptions of the value of creativity related to my troubles, but even more so how much emphasis does the working world put on creativity? Can I find a job as an English major? My adviser says "sure, there are lots of companies looking for people with strong writing skills." But strong writing skills aren't unique or have anything to do with creativity. As an English major I enjoy letting novels take my imagination, and allow myself the chance to think about something new, but that’s just within school. The working world isn't concerned with my imagination; they are most interested in my writing skills which have to do with the organization of the English language which is far from being original.

The academic world reflects the working world, a population of people who come home from a job they dislike to indulge in what really makes them happy, their creative outflow. The solution to this is very difficult. How do we create more jobs that make the arts lucrative? Amateur music and art is not in high demand. Only the wide spread, mainstream artists can really make a living. Even then it is hard with the record company claiming all of your creations as their own.

I hope to find a job where I have a chance to be wrong and an equal chance to be creative. I want a job that takes my passions at full value and uses them. The search will be hard, but hopefully more of these jobs will be available to everyone, so we can do as we please.