Initial Enthusiasm Dampened

So my ''bursting with excitement!!!'' moment is over. And I'm back to reality - which for me lately consists of being depressed about where my life is going. (Seriously - I have such first world troubles!)

I have completed an undergraduate degree, an honours degree, and a post-graduate certificate. And I work part-time in a reception. And what else? Oh, well I play World of Warcraft, and I work on my family tree, but is that what I want to be doing with my life?

I am not studying anymore, so I can no longer get away with the excuse that "I'm waiting for real life to begin" because this is it, folks... This is real life. Me, sitting at my computer lamenting the fact that the people who I apply to for jobs don't get that I actually want to do something more with my life.

This is despite the fact that this is actually all ok - I'm saving up for my big trip OS. I couldn't exactly get a job now and say at the outset "Oh, and I'll need a full month off in July because I'm going to a Harry Potter conference, and then a brief jaunt to the UK and Hong Kong... ok?" That'd be rude. (I know - I could...)

So really I should be making the most of this time of only working 15 hours a week, and filling my life with hobbies, and baking and self-improvement. But unfortunately all these things only have their appeal if you don't have time for them... Such is life.

My suggestions for myself:

Do a short course - you love study, do more of it!

Volunteer work - you'll feel useful!

PAINT - You lazy artist, you.

Write and research - When will you have the time for your brain-crack ideas if you get a full-time job, huh?

Good point self. Good point. Now to attempt to pull self out of funk...

Oh my how time flies.

Wow ... long time no blog eh?

What has happened since... (!!!) October 2010?

• I turned 24 years old.
• I got a brand spankin' new iMac! This was a birthday present from my lovely man... Thank goodness my parents were there or I would have probably done something to show my gratitude right then and there in the living room (with sheer curtains).
• I bought my plane tickets for my Overseas trip this year (I actually can't remember when this happened - but OMG still so excited!)
• I went back to SA in November for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Can I just say, so AMAZING. That movie is the only one where I can say that I absolutely loved it with no reservations. Even the bits that they missed were not important, and the things that they changed actually made it better! Unbelievable!
• I went back to SA again in December for Christmas. It was lovely actually - But made me realise how very different my cousins and I are! All except 2 would barely even make eye contact with me, and I find that very bizarre. Those few hours where all the cousins were there were probably some of the most uncomfortable I've had in a long time!
• I finished my degree - that's number three folks. Yes I am now Amanda Claire Wells B.A., Hons. (Anth.), Grad. Cert. (Crim & Crim. Jus.). Just watch the letters grow!

Then it was new years, then people visited, then ... well, I've done little else but play World of Warcraft and find even more branches to my family tree.

Then there were floods - we were fine. We are just far enough back from the river to have been unaffected, even though we are literally 15 metres from the rivers edge - it is ever so slightly uphill. We watched the boardwalk go under, streets go under, debris (including a restaurant) float past all the while feeling very odd. Everything that you saw on the news just didn't add up with what we could see simply because we were soooo lucky! The whole experience was dream-like.

Which pretty much leads me to now...

Lately I have been feeling very ... lacklustre. Actually downright lost! Having a part-time job is not conducive to feeling productive. And when I have exhausted my enthusiasm for my hobbies (Genealogy and WoW), I really don't have anything left to do.

I have been seriously contemplating doing further study just to occupy my mind and make me feel useful again...

Then today, while listening to a literary analysis of the Harry Potter series via Podcasts various, it hit me - why the hell can't I write a book or even article about Harry Potter from my own perspective? Why can't I apply anthropological theory and concepts to Harry Potter? Sure, the time for this sort of book is past - 2 or 3 years ago would have been perfect. But lets be honest here, I would not be doing this for money or fame. I would be doing this because I need to do this.

I am defined by many things in my mind. One of those things is my love of study and academia. Another of those things is my passion for Harry Potter. So many people do not understand this - but Harry Potter is so very much more than just a children's book series. Yes, it is that. But it is also an epic narrative about love, death, change and choice - how universal is that?

The world created in these novels is so intricate that I could use that as a way of illuminating western Culture in general - but even better, the popularity of the books and particularly the fandom (which has its strongest foothold on the internet) makes for a wonderful application of anthropological theory and themes...

BURSTING WITH EXCITEMENT.

I've already started to brainstorm, and I've even sourced several books I can read (apart from the canon of course!) to help me on my way.

That's my life in a nutshell! I live in an apartment that I rarely leave with Nathaniel, my iMac and the internet. Doesn't sound too exciting does it? Just you wait!