I Feel Like I Made the Wrong Choice

The first year was fun; it was just like high school. The second year was fun too. The third year started to get irritating and now I have no life.  The more I think about it, the more I feel like I made the wrong choice by choosing college. The assignments are arbitrary but time consuming, the class material is nothing new and some of the students are frequently as informed as the professors. It’s unnecessarily stressful and meaningless and primarily a business.

   

I want to be a researcher, but I feel college has poorly prepared me for this occupation. In an effort to make us more “well rounded” it has limited our usefulness. Instead of developing a collection of skills that may be useful in the history field we are practically turned into one-trick ponies. Our degrees are so limiting when they should be opening opportunities for us.  I am disappointed that a history degree does not even touch on archiving, artifact conservation, transcription, or writing history.  Shouldn’t we be prepared for things we might encounter in history-based occupations?  Instead we have to pay extra money and spend more time to develop these skills in other ways.  

Not only do I spend a majority of my time on meaningless school related tasks but I see all of the things that I can’t do because I chose college instead. I wish I had more time to spend with my family and friends. I see the beautiful works of art, costumes, and writings of my friends and wish I just stayed home. I do these things when I can, but it is slow going. I feel like I am never accomplishing anything and have nothing to be proud of. College is pretty monomaniacal; I wish I could develop my other talents and explore my other interests too.  

Then I think of all of the things I can’t do because I have student loans.  It is my goal in life to travel and do volunteer work. But, by the time my student loans are paid off, I will probably be too established in one area to pick up my life and move frequently.

Many people talk about the great experiences that they had in college but I haven’t had a particularly enriching college experience. I also think that if I had $5,000+ to spend each year on great experiences, I would wager that I could probably come up with some pretty enriching experiences. I do love history and researching but did I make the right choice? These sacrifices are the things that no one ever tells you about and unfortunately, I won't know for sure whether I made the right choice until years after I graduate. 

***The photos were from a recent trip to Valley Forge National Historic Park which was part of a college assignment but was welcome because it gave Andy and I some time to hang out and spend some time outside, which college hasn't been allowing a lot of time for.         

How to Make Corn Husk Dolls

At work I got the rare chance to try my hand at the Native American craft of corn husk doll making. The English were first introduced to dolls made out of corn during an 1585 expedition in Virginia. It seems that the English preferred rag dolls but that corn husk dolls were numerous among many Native civilizations. 

Soak the husks for 5-10 minutes to make them pliable.

Make a stack out of four husks and tie a string around the husks around an inch from the top.

 

Divide the husks into two sections, with two leaves on both sides.

Fold one side over. 

Tie a string around the bulge to make the head.

 Cut a piece of husk in half longways. Roll it up and tie both end up to create the arms.

Lift up the front two husks and insert the arms in. 

 

 Put the husks back down.

 Tie a string under the arms to hold them in. From this stage you can vary the doll in many ways. if you cut the front husk a little smaller than the rest, it will appear that the doll is wearing an apron. If you cut a vertical line from the bottom of the dress up to the bottom string, you can tie off "legs" and make a boy.

Watercolor painted by John White on his expedition to Virginia in 1585. It depicts a little girl playing with an English doll, which was part of a series of trinkets given to the Native Americans that Sir Walter Raleigh's men encountered. It was reported that all of the the Natives were "greatlye Dilighted with puppetts, and babes which wear brought oute of England." 

I Miss Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year, I love going up north and taking photos of all of the leaves in their brilliant glory. The reds, the oranges and the greens look like they just flowed out of the paintbrush of a master artist. I love the clear air, apple cider and the wood burning stove smoke that rustles in the leaves up above. It is cool enough for fuzzy sweaters but not so cold that you can't enjoy yourself outside. It is the perfect time for stargazing. The skies are clear and there are two meteor showers this October. Unfortunately, like last year, Fall has been so rainy that the leaves may all fall of the trees before they get a chance to change.

I thought I'd post some of my favorite photos from falls in the past. A virtual fall, if you will.

 I hope this season is just as beautiful as past seasons. I've bought myself a new palette for my paints and I plan to document it this year. I just love looking at it; it is pretty and white. My others are stained from pigments being left too long and bad cleaning practices. I almost don't want to dirty it. Of course I will. :D  

Facebook :(

I will no longer be checking my facebook. I have hated facebook since its inception and was hoping it would fizzle out before I had to make one. Unfortunately, I did end up having to make one so people without blogger could follow my blog. It was fun for a while and I made a lot of new friends, mostly reenactors from units I would never have met in person and for that I am happy I signed up. 

However, it’s just getting annoying now. This site enables superficial relationships. You are in everyone’s lives without being in anyone’s life. It provides human interaction on your terms, friendships without any real investment. It lets you feel connected while not really being connected at all. The experience is more important than documenting it in detail so your friends will think you have such an interesting life. (I’m betting you know people who do this.)   

I want to keep my relationships meaningful and my activities meaningful and there is nothing meaningful about scrolling through 1,000 photos of someone’s vacation, especially if you are not involved enough in their life for them to even tell you they are going away.

I will check out people’s photos but only if they mention them to me personally. You know my phone number, you know my e-mail, you know my blog; you know how to get in contact with me other than through facebook. 

 

I’d really appreciate it if you would.  I know everyone is busy. I am busy, which is why I want to make my relationships as meaningful as possible. I’d rather spend an hour with friends than 1,000 hours on facebook. I know this means that I won’t know what you are doing every hour of the day. I’m looking forward to not knowing, so we’ll have lots to talk about when we see each other!   

I’m not deleting my facebook account, but I will only be checking it once or twice a month. I much prefer blogs because they give an overview of your activities, not a micro detailed timeline of your life. I get to see your photos and hear your thoughts and feelings. I love reading my friend's opinions, beliefs and ideas. It's much more stimulating than "[Insert vague status update here that will prompt people to ask about something you're dying to tell everyone.]"      

Civil War Shetland Wool Shawl

I am currently working on a fun knitting project that uses a very simple pattern but a pretty complex stitch. It's not that the stitch is particularly hard, but if I mess up once, the whole pattern is ruined and it's really difficult to figure out where I messed up. Once I find the offending stitch, it is almost impossible to rip out the other stitches and get them back on the needle in the correct places.

It's getting to be that time of year where wool on your lap is a toasty welcomed companion. My knitting list is growing. I should stop looking at everyone's beautiful knitted things before my hands fall off.
 

 I love the Civil War era wraps that I have but now I'm starting to eye up some pretty shawls. I normally walk around my house in the winter wrapped in a small blanket, folded the the shawl above. I've been fooling with the idea of making a shawl that I can wear around the house as well as at reenactments. (I really think someone with more fashion influence than I needs to bring shawls back.) This pattern is simple enough but uses different stitches to make pretty patterns. It is probably gorgeous when made and I am thinking of adding it to my list. It is folded over do it will be twice as warm. But first I have to finish the garment I am working on.  

The item I am currently working on uses a very open stitch and I am afraid it will be too open to be warm. It is a gift so I can't post much about it yet but I really like how it looks so far. I am very happy that I have something to be excited over because this semester is really sucking the life out of me. (Yes, it's pretty sad that I am looking forward to 3 minutes of knitting here and there throughout the week but at least it is something and I'm not running around full of stress like I have been in previous weeks. :D)


When I am done the three big projects that I have this semester I vow to sit and knit to my heart's content. I am a pretty slow knitter so I usually only manage one or two knitting projects a season. Unfortunate, knitting takes so long and there's so many other enjoyable hobbies.