What to do before Berkeley?
September 29, 2011 9:38 AM Subscribe
What to do with three months of free time...
A relative will be starting as a transfer to U.C. Berkeley (my alma mater) in the spring. Until then, he has free time and asked what he should be doing aside from the obvious of getting a job.
I suggested he learn a programming language (he is an English major) or do whatever he can to understand how the web apps he uses work - because I think its beneficial to have awareness of that sort of stuff.
And he wants to get into journalism, and I think the future of journalism is intricately connected to the web.
Any other suggestions?
He is in the early 20s, hipster-esque, uses a Mac and is bright.
A relative will be starting as a transfer to U.C. Berkeley (my alma mater) in the spring. Until then, he has free time and asked what he should be doing aside from the obvious of getting a job.
I suggested he learn a programming language (he is an English major) or do whatever he can to understand how the web apps he uses work - because I think its beneficial to have awareness of that sort of stuff.
And he wants to get into journalism, and I think the future of journalism is intricately connected to the web.
Any other suggestions?
He is in the early 20s, hipster-esque, uses a Mac and is bright.
Write a book. Even if it's never published the experience of getting 80,000+ organised words down on paper is valuable experience. Maybe while travelling.
posted by Cuppatea at 9:50 AM on September 29, 2011
posted by Cuppatea at 9:50 AM on September 29, 2011
Best answer: If he's in his early twenties and looking to break into a competitive stagnating money-poor field, he's likely looking at at least a good 3 or 4 years of a crushing workload, no vacations, and so on.
If this is the case, I'm going to buck the "write a book/learn a language/learn to program/see other cultures/etc" consensus. Those are all great things, but they're also strenuous and mentally challenging, and your friend has plenty of that ahead of him.
Instead, I would say - travel only if its somewhere beautiful with a beach and you have the money to stay at nice hotels. Or play every video game that you've thought of picking up. Watch every movie you've wanted to watch. If available, have tons of sex. Sleep without an alarm. Eat so much awesome food that you gain 10 pounds and don't worry about it. The point is pleasure, hedonism, and relaxation, not personal development. Because if your friend is about to enter a multi-year stretch in which he forgets what rest or pleasure are, he's going to wish he had done this.
posted by tempythethird at 10:00 AM on September 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
If this is the case, I'm going to buck the "write a book/learn a language/learn to program/see other cultures/etc" consensus. Those are all great things, but they're also strenuous and mentally challenging, and your friend has plenty of that ahead of him.
Instead, I would say - travel only if its somewhere beautiful with a beach and you have the money to stay at nice hotels. Or play every video game that you've thought of picking up. Watch every movie you've wanted to watch. If available, have tons of sex. Sleep without an alarm. Eat so much awesome food that you gain 10 pounds and don't worry about it. The point is pleasure, hedonism, and relaxation, not personal development. Because if your friend is about to enter a multi-year stretch in which he forgets what rest or pleasure are, he's going to wish he had done this.
posted by tempythethird at 10:00 AM on September 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
Best answer: thirding travel. with a netbook or macbook air, upon which he can write a book and learn a programming language. while traveling.
posted by changeling at 10:01 AM on September 29, 2011
posted by changeling at 10:01 AM on September 29, 2011
and you have the money to stay at nice hotels
I could not disagree with this more. early twenties is for hostels. he's got the rest of his life to stay in nice hotels, but the camaraderie of the hostel experience is incomparable.
posted by changeling at 10:04 AM on September 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
I could not disagree with this more. early twenties is for hostels. he's got the rest of his life to stay in nice hotels, but the camaraderie of the hostel experience is incomparable.
posted by changeling at 10:04 AM on September 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
Backpacking in Central / South America + a few weeks of immersion language school.
posted by ghharr at 10:21 AM on September 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by ghharr at 10:21 AM on September 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
When I was laid off, I finally got into music production seriously, which is something fairly easy to get into on a mac.
posted by empath at 10:25 AM on September 29, 2011
posted by empath at 10:25 AM on September 29, 2011
Nthig travel. Travel travel travel.
posted by mollymayhem at 10:55 AM on September 29, 2011
posted by mollymayhem at 10:55 AM on September 29, 2011
Yes. Travel. Definitely. I wish I had taken the opportunity to travel during my various breaks from school. Instead I worked and blew all my money on take-out. Travel travel travel. Plus language school like ghharr suggests.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 11:02 AM on September 29, 2011
posted by Snarl Furillo at 11:02 AM on September 29, 2011
Eh, travel is not for everyone. He's an English major? Read. If I had three months free I'd spend as much time as possible reading. Even studying English, you'll end up spending a lot of time reading books that are assigned, not necessarily the books you want to read. So read the books you want to read now. Being widely read in general will also help him when he starts his studying.
posted by maybeandroid at 12:40 PM on September 29, 2011
posted by maybeandroid at 12:40 PM on September 29, 2011
visit friends everywhere.
posted by WeekendJen at 1:45 PM on September 29, 2011
posted by WeekendJen at 1:45 PM on September 29, 2011
Eh, travel is not for everyone.
This. Traveling is tiring. You have to eat strange food and sleep in strange places and carry your shit around. For some people the benefits of this do not outweigh the drawbacks.
posted by madcaptenor at 1:54 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
This. Traveling is tiring. You have to eat strange food and sleep in strange places and carry your shit around. For some people the benefits of this do not outweigh the drawbacks.
posted by madcaptenor at 1:54 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There are volunteer/travel options. He could go build houses for Habitat for Humanity, or volunteer to help at Safe Passage in Guatemala, or find some other interesting place to so some good. Reading books & travel go well together, in my experience. I haven't gone to really obscure places, but everywhere I've gone, there's someplace with books in English, either free on a swap shelf in a hostel, or cheap in a cafe. I think of it as adventure reading. There are also volunteer options close to home. He could ask the united Way for a referral to a non-profit that needs a writer for PR or a website. Or do an unpaid internship at a local free paper. Anyway, wherever he goes, and whatever he does, he should be blogging about it. It's really good experience to write daily, and it's especially good experience for a journalist.
posted by theora55 at 4:16 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 4:16 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
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Always, always travel, every single time you get the opportunity, starting as soon as you are physically able and ending when you are dead.
posted by Decani at 9:46 AM on September 29, 2011 [15 favorites]