Saturday, October 3, 2009

Statement Of Purpose

Today I was confronted with a challenge.
"Statement of Purpose: Focus on the fit between your intellectual interests and research training with the course and research opportunities at Prestigious School for Communication."
This made me pause. Firstly, because I haven't had to write using my expensive, academic, master's degree vocabulary lately. Those hard-earned words are important to incorporate, because doctoral programs tend to shy away from accepting the un-smart. The second reason I paused was because it struck me how rarely we state to ourselves our own purpose.

If I were to follow the instructions above, modified to apply to everyday life, what would I say was my purpose? How would I relate my past and current activities, interests, and work to what I hope to accomplish in the future?

It's difficult to say, because goals -- like so much of life -- are fluid and ever-changing, at least for me. I don't always act methodically toward them because I don't know if they'll still exist when I get to them. So many vanish the closer I approach.

BUT here's the thing: I think the question is worth asking, even if the answer isn't entirely clear.

I don't have an answer completely formed yet... but asking the right question is half the battle. It gets me thinking in a productive direction.

This is my modified Statement of Purpose question:

How do your current passions, skills, and pursuits prepare and guide you to the life you want?

I'm still working on my answer. Do you have one?

1 comment:

Dave said...

If we had an answer, wouldn't that take the fun out of it? Or, perhaps, I'm just "one of those."