I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to ‘what I want to be when I grow up’. Having recently finished my history honours, I began undergraduate law, but quit it in less than a week due to absolute boredom.
I’m working fairly regularly, but I find myself getting slightly bored. Despite the pressures of honours, I really enjoy learning “stuffâ€. Consequently, I’ve been entertaining the idea of doing a masters of philosophy in history. I read articles like Why Become a Historian? and realise that I feel exactly the same way about disciplines like history as the people in these stories do. And that sort makes me feel that perhaps it’s the correct path to follow.
One quote from the previous link stands out,
“Being a teacher of history adds another burden: it’s like being a parent in charge of memory, in this case, society’s memory.â€
Something about that quote is rather appealing (I guess is the heightened sense of duty to preserving the human hive mind).
The advantages of doing something like masters is that I can still do consulting work on the side, and don’t really have to sacrifice many other activities I enjoy – for instance, my music preoccupations. In fact, arguably, masters study will assist me in music. It is a great source of inspiration for song ideas and lyrics.
So, I’m thinking I’ll at least apply for a scholarship. If I get one, then perhaps its meant to be. The only question is where to apply to. I can go back to the University of Queensland, or try the University of Melbourne (which, I’m told, has the best history department in the country) or perhaps consider overseas (though overseas might be an option when I apply for a PHD).
Of course, this little article was written simply for the task of straightening things out in my mind. I thought I’d share it anyway.
