I do not have a psychology degree. I do not have a philosophy degree. I don’t even have a 4 year degree. My degree is in Computers and it’s an AAS. It’s a tech degree, which isn’t really a degree, and it’s an associate’s degree, which is the degree people get when they don’t know where to go from there. It’s an awkward degree, a pretend degree, a confused degree. It’s the degree the other degrees don’t talk about because it doesn’t require as much study to acquire. And that doesn’t really make it a degree, right?
Just because higher level degrees take more study to obtain, that does not mean that the more one studies the higher the degree you have.
For instance, my son is addicted to the My Sims wii game. He can tell you every character and when they’re likely to appear in the game. He knows where every essence is and which characters will ask you for them. He knows the personality types associated with every character and every essence, and even which personality types each character doesn’t like. He can even mime the actions the characters make to a tee.
My child is an expert in the field of the My Sims game. He does not have a degree, but what he doesn’t have in letters he has more than made up for in hours staring at the television set, wiimote and nunchuck in hand, ignoring his chores in pursuit of mastering that which has piqued his interest to obsession.
It would be admirable if there weren’t still a giant pile of dirty clothes on his bedroom floor.
The point is, anyone can be an expert, and you don’t need a degree to be one. If my seven year old can do it, you can do it. In fact, it’s possible you are already in expert at something. What have you spent hours of time obsessing over? Video games? Scrap booking? Movies? Maybe you spent enough time obsessing over it that you decided to pay an institution enough money to give you a degree stating that you spent time obsessing over it.
If you did, I will admit to being jealous over it.
Truth is my obsession. I have looked at the concept of truth from a variety of angles. I have studied philosophy, meditated, prayed, analyzed, and blogged. I have gone through therapy, talked to gurus, and taken classes.
I am not an expert. Unlike my son, I cannot tell you about all the nuances of truth or where to find honesty. Truth is not so easily defined. How does one define a concept? When you tell someone you love them, does it mean the same thing to both people? If I say I want justice, will you and I agree to some measurement of how much? Is there a tangible element to freedom that is universal?
Dear Reader.
What is your obsession? What are you an expert in? What is the excuse for the pile of dirty clothes in the middle of your bedroom floor?
