Back to school and finding the perfect career

This semester I was on the lookout for a good class to take. The interior design program at UCLA didn't have anything this quarter that worked with my schedule so I decided to just take something fun like photography or pottery or... landscape design. Lately I've been on this mission to do something with our yard. It was terrible when we first moved in and now it's just blah. So, instead of hiring a contractor or landscape designer like other people do, I get the idea to take a landscape design class (refer to my entry titled "Idiosyncrasy" - #2). Actually, I've been scribbling down ideas for a while on what to do and studying stacks and stacks of books for ideas for some time. I finally decided I want to just get it all done and get it done right.

So I went to my first class tonight and it may sound crazy but I think I found the career I have been looking for my whole life. I know, I know, I've said that for almost every interest that I've had, but my ears perked up like they've never done before. My prof was this sweet older gentleman with charisma and an amazing fund of knowledge about the field and about the history of architecture and landscaping.

After my first class I was so fired up and proceeded to tell Joe about how I think I've found the perfect career and he says, "oh really?" But it wasn't a "Really? I'm so excited for you." It was more like a " Really, uh-huh, I think I've heard this one before." Okay, so this is why I think Landscape Design would be the perfect match for me:

• I get to work for myself and have autonomy
• I set my own schedule and have flexibility for the kids
• I get to express myself creatively
• I continually learn a trade that is so vast and evolving (I think of it as an art form)
• The demand is HUGE in SoCal so I don't have to stress about competition
• I work with people
• I make people happy
• I get to help people
• I get to help people spend their money
• I contribute to people's quality of life
• If I do my job responsibly, I can improve the environment
• I get to work with a vast array of plants and flowers
• I can rattle off a bunch of crazy sounding plant species
• I don't have to do any dirty work but I get to reap all the benefits of seeing a well planned finished product
• There isn't really any schooling required but I can easily get a certificate and pretty much hit the ground running
• I get to make money doing something I really enjoy

Well, I guess for now I should probably take things one at a time and just get through this first intro course.