Schooling Myself, or, Why I've put myself in this position

When I began college, I knew roughly what I wanted to do, which was use my talent for disassembling and manipulation for good, in some sort of PR or marketing. I thought at first that I would manage PR for political powers, and I knew that involved writing speeches, and understanding politics, so I chose communications and political science. Later, I decided commercials might be fun, so I chose video production as my focus.

What I quickly learned is that I lacked the confidence and the well-rounded genius needed to navigate candidates through the political world successfully. Also, I was a troublemaker, and didn't have the restraint needed to keep my nose clean, so to speak. To put it short, I was no Sam Seaborn. More and more however, a flare for web marketing began to emerge, as I've always been a computer-obsessed geek, though utterly without direction.

I also learned, for one, that I hate carrying a camera around, and can't shoot to save my life. I discovered that sound editing is satanic, and that communications was not the same as marketing, and while the education I was getting about how to successfully interact with others was helpful, it was not specific enough. Moreover, my degree was tailored towards journalism, and video journalism, two fields I had absolutely no interest in. By the time this revelation came to me however, I had already declared, so I continued on in this path I had sowed, eventually reaching senior year in a blind panic because my worklife had no correlation with my education.

I suppose this is where I began making mistakes. I might have transferred, perhaps, to a school more suited to my interests. It certainly could have given up attempts to satisfy my own dreams, and gone with the flow of my degree, getting internships as my peers did at the local news studios and radio stations. I didn't, though, knowing I'd probably not enjoy it, and would later on regret it.

My ten and twenty year plans are varied in projects. I want to start a foundation, an ad agency, a green energy company, a clothing line, (In business terms, a dog/not-for-profit, a cash cow, a star, and a question mark). I want to purchase and renovate an old warehouse, occupying the top half and renting out the bottom for events. I want to be on a reality tv show, (as does my boss), and I want to shoot music videos for hobby. However, I cannot grow in this path working in journalism, which brings me to the purpose of this post: I'm designing my own "second" college education, virtually for free, using resources online and at the bookstore.

I have taken a year off graduate school in order to increase my skills for short term (10 year plan) hiring, in some design capacity for online marketing in its various forms. Once that education is obtained, I will return to grad school and finish the rest of my degree, which is designed to help me open a business(20 year plan) for which to practice the skills obtained in my short terms plan. I will be posting my curriculum, assignments, and projects for those who may find themselves in the same position I am in, in the hopes that this will be a resource to them. Wish me luck!