Occupation: _______________

5 years ago, I was prepping for the end of my high school career. My prom and school leaving ceremony loomed overhead like an ominous cloud. My world as I knew it was apparently going to change dramatically.

Enter UBC.

As hectic as university life was, it really wasn’t an incredibly drastic change compared to my high school career; the change was almost comparable to that experienced moving from elementary to high school. School’s a little further away, the student population is bigger, you gain a bit more independence, and studies continue to get harder.

Yesterday, I sat through my university convocation ceremony. I always knew that this ceremony marked my release into the real world, but I swear I could feel my life as I’ve known it for the past 18 years change before my eyes. This is the end of my educational career for me…which I suppose makes me an engineer and no longer a student.

I haven’t planned on coming out and working in the industry. Engineering as a career stopped being a goal probably after my second year. Even though I have my engineering degree and technically am therefore an engineer, I wouldn’t call it my occupation. This is where I run into confusion.

I love my job. Working part time at a dog bakery is great. I deal with pleasant customers, dogs all day long, and I get paid to bake. I really can’t complain. When someone asks me what I’m doing or if I have a job, I have no problem offering an affirmative answer and telling them about what I do. The problem is on these pesky forms that you have to fill out every so often.

According to UBC, my “student” status was technically gone at the end of April. Since I wanted to get my eyes checked, I booked an appointment for the end of April so I could get last minute coverage on my dad’s insurance. I go in for my appointment and they make me fill out a form with the usual information: name, birth date, occupation…

…Occupation?

Being that it was the end of April, I wrote, “Student.” But it got me to thinking – once May came around, what would I write. It’s easier to explain your part time job to someone standing in front of you asking if you have a job or what you do. “Occupation: __________” on a form only leaves you so much room to elaborate.

I haven’t quite decided what to write if I get asked that again. Dog baker? Dog pastry chef? Or maybe I need to write something completely strange (as if those two weren’t strange enough) like gold digger.

As much as I love my job, there’s no way I can work it for the rest of my life. I’ve wanted to pursue a career in dance for a long time now, but it really never because a feasible option until this past summer. I didn’t realize that being free of school would make me feel so free in my dance. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face in the first classes I went to after exams were over. Dance has been the one thing that has gotten me through the last 5 years, but I’ve never felt that kind of freedom or happiness.

I didn’t think my university grad ceremony would have hit me so hard. My mom told me after my ceremony that she nearly cried seeing me walk across the stage. I told her I nearly cried when I walked in, sat down, listened to the chancellor’s speech…I pretty much nearly cried through the entire thing. For her, they were tears of pride and joy. 23 years later, my parents have raised a university graduate and an engineer. For me, it was an intense release of pressure. My degree is behind me. It’s always there as a safety net. It’s also my green light to move forward with what I truly want in life.

With that being said, the past 5 years have been really important to me. The dance industry is cutthroat. At 18, I would never have made it in the industry. I hadn’t been dancing long enough and I just didn’t have enough confidence in my abilities. UBC offered me a place to hone my skills and to work with some incredible dancers and choreographers over the years.

I’ve also met some incredible people along the way that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world…people I would have never met if I hadn’t done my degree. I’m starting to try to live believing that people come into your life for a reason. I’m so thankful for the people that I met, but I am so lucky to have met a few very close friends throughout the years. It’s hard to find people who selflessly stand behind you and believe in everything you do…especially with me. I have to admit, I am a bit of a loose cannon, and I’m really grateful to my friends who are comfortable enough with me to tell me to straighten up and to not do stupid things.

The life changing experiences didn’t end yesterday, though. This afternoon, I learned that one of the engineers I briefly worked under during my first work term was hit and killed by a truck while on a motorcycle trip in South America. I didn’t know him well, but some people really touch your life for the brief amount of time they’re there. The piece of news hit me hard. I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it.

This man fought for me to get the most out of my work experience while I worked with him. During my job search during my last work terms, I really wanted to work in research on campus. On my own, there was no way I would have ever been able to land that job. My grades just aren’t high enough to compete with the other students who want those jobs. He gave my professor such an incredible, outstanding reference that I went forward to work for 8 months there. It really wasn’t my cup of tea, but looking back, I’m thankful I had a chance to work in a research environment for a short time – it stopped me from applying for grad school, which would have left me miserable for a much longer period of time.

None of this is really seeming to link up, but the last two days have really been a reminder to me that life is just beginning, but no one knows when we’re going to die. We need to focus on where our passions lie. For me, right now, that’s going to be focusing on my dance, reconnecting with my family and friends that I haven’t really had time for in the last 5 years, and…writing again? After that…who knows?

So this was a little deeper than I intended it to be. I swear I’ll write something stupider next time :).