Friday, March 27, 2009

Catch up / Exploring the "undegree"

Let me catch you up... I decided to finish my time enrolled in a university system. Although in conversation it may be perceived at times as a long break, it is very likely I will not return. I now feel very comfortable with this decision. I guess you should never say never, but I will leave it at highly unlikely.

I have left Guam and am now in Italy. I guess you could say I have moved on to getting my "undegree." What the hell is an "undegree"? You ask? I just made up the word, so I guess I can make up exactly what it means. It is different for every person, but it has a curriculum just like a degree. Generally I would say it breaks down like this:

Being who you want to be
Being with those you want to be with
Being where you want to be
Doing what fulfills you
Having things you want

Like I said your "undegree" is up to you. It may contain all of these aspects or just some. I will now break down further how my "undegree" looks.

Being who you want to be
Example Traits--
Faithfilled
Accepting
Hardworking
Considerate
Skilled (cooking, instruments, woodwork, etc.)
Educated (multiple languages, understand cultures, etc.)
ETC.

Being with those you want to be with
Having fulfilling relationships with:
Family (parents, siblings, and extended)
Wife and Family (my kids and wife)
Friends

Being where you want to be
Living in a certain location, or between locations
(still exploring the earth to figure out mine, most likely on planet earth somewhere between a few places a year)

Doing what fulfills you
Still exploring this as well, most likely working with people doing service

Having things you want
Basic needs met for me. Safety and security for my family.



This is not a complete breakdown... just to give you an idea.
Right now I am currently working on a few parts of my "undegree." I am mainly focused on becoming who I want to be at this point. Being where I want to be and doing what fulfills me are also being explored a bit as well. This is what my semester looks like right now:

March 30th-April 12th
Attend Italian language course for foundation (30hrs/wk in class) Study outside of class
-beginning of my first second language (who I want to be -- cont. education)
-exploring florence, a new place (where I want to be)

April 13th-July 20th
Work on Organic farms throughout Italy
-working and serving others (doing what fulfills you)
-building habit of prayer (who I want to be--faithfilled)
-speaking italian in work (who I want to be--education)

This can give you an idea of my upcoming work/study.

My next semester I is still being planned, but it will continue to focus on who I want to be and focus more heavily on what fulfills me.

I hope that one day I can get my "undegree" :

Being who I want to be
Being with those I want to be with
Being where I want to be
Doing what fulfills me
Having things I want

All at the same time...

An "undegree" is for everyone. There is a lot of work to do to get your "undegree". For you it may include a college degree or may not. Like I said it is different for everyone. Mine currently does not include a college degree. Achieving your undegree will be very difficult. Do not let anyone or anything stop you from pursuing it. When you've done that, you have dropped out of life. Are you working towards your undegree? It's never too late to start...

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost." --H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

1 comment:

  1. Mark,

    I enjoyed this entry very much. I think I can agree with many things you said here. Good luck finding your undegrees.

    Jake Jeong

    ReplyDelete