The Lottery Test

I recently had a conversation with one of my Dance students who was in crisis. The student was concerned about the practicality of a career in Dance versus finding another major that would give her a "practical" job once she graduated. Now, I know we've talked about this before, but it's an important subject and I thought I would approach things from a new prospective.

Everyone is concerned about money, but money should never (ever, ever, under penalty of death) be the thing that keeps you from following your dream. So let me ask you this: what would you do if money wasn't an issue? If you are doing something you truly love (be it something in the arts or animal husbandry...hey, I don't know what your passions are...) give yourself the Lottery Test.

The Lottery Test is remarkably simple; ask yourself what you would do if you won the lottery tomorrow. Would you still study the same things (now with the benefit of not incurring hideous student loan debt and scoring a kicking new pad)? Or would you study something else entirely?

The challenge comes after you have administered the lottery test...because you need to live by the results. What is the point of studying something you hate just because it is "practical"? You're still going to hate it. You need to start removing money from the equation of your education and do the things that make you happy (yes, I have said that before...repetition makes the heart grow fonder).

Why do I stress this so much? Because I adore my students (even the ones who frustrate me) and I want to see them happy. And because I am fortunate enough to LOVE (all caps) my job and I want my students to have that same satisfaction when they leave their time in college behind them.

If you were wondering, I took the lottery test myself not too long ago. What would I do if I won the lottery? Pay off my student loans, pay off my parents' mortgages (they've given me a LOT of money over the years)...and then show up to work the next morning. After all, we've got Orientation coming up, a new class of students coming in the fall, new curriculums to learn, new technologies to explore to help my students...I'm not done learning yet.