Future Plans

After I graduate I intend to take a gap year and return to work at the YMCA as a camp counselor. I aim to move out as soon as possible and want to work with kids creatively again. I was a crafting manager working there last summer and it was incredibly rewarding but less focused on connecting with campers since the craft cabin is open to many more visitors. During the summer I'm also interested in interning with our school's Future Educators Academy program. The program is designed to give those interested in education careers hands on experience, focusing particularly on special education. I hope that by immersing myself in such a way I will learn skills to better understand, communicate, and teach disabled people. I believe that this opportunity will also enable me to determine if a teaching field might be the right fit for me without devoting too many resources to something I'm unsure about. Not only would this be beneficial as an entry level job but also in order to learn strategies and traits which would be helpful in everyday life as a political organizer or urban planner (which Is my main career goal). Regardless of my career I want to dedicate my life to improving my local community and becoming an advocate for targeted groups to bolster a societal shift towards empathy. After my gap year to gather funds which will support moving into my own place I hope to enroll in Cabrillo college studying political science. If I continue to pursue a political degree I will transfer to a UC school to study urban and regional planning. UC Davis has a community and regional development course that I'd love to attend and Cal Poly Pomona has a similar course that includes a community development and social justice sub plan which really excites me to learn about. I have a very strong belief that the technologies to improve societies already exist for the most part, the issue seems most often to be in the deployment of those methods or lack thereof. A big reason for this especially in the United States is infrastructure that encourages isolation. With the necessary education I could implement things such as better transportation and communal spaces to foster communities who look after their neighbors. More self sustaining cities and towns would decrease their negative Impact on the environment and make these spaces safer in general. When I think about future choices one of my biggest considerations is balancing my love of art and creative aspects with my interest in science and political spheres. If urban planning doesn't inspire me in the way I imagine or I cannot cover the expenses for education I plan to get an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist. I have been designing tattoos since I was 13, it is also one of my biggest interests. My concerns here lie within monetizing my art and the fear that I won't find the same joy in creating with the pressure of a wage. My solution is to develop my portfolio as a hobby while pursuing what I view as a more stable income. This would provide me with a fallback plan in case I discover a certain field isn't for me.