I recently received an email from one of my Social Justice and Peace Studies professors posing a few questions to graduates of the program to see what they are doing with the degree. I thought I’d post my response here for future reference.

2. What you’ve done since graduating
Graduating left a very big question mark looming over my head. With SJPS being such a broad topic, able to be applied to so many areas (one of its benefits), I decided to take the summer off and live on the West coast for a few months (Burnaby, B.C.). I thought this time away would make things (mainly my plans for the future) more clear. It didn’t.

Still not knowing what to do, I returned home to a 6-month contract job in September, helping a company implement a new software package. It may sound out of the SJPS realm, but nothing really is and I’ve used some of the skills and understandings taught in the program while training and working with people in our company. This also allowed me to save some money and do more traveling.

3. What you’re doing now (summer 2009)
The 6-month contract turned into a 1-year contract so I will be spending my summer working in an office. It is only May and I am already having a lot of trouble dealing with the notion that I don’t get the summer off–imagine! Add to that the fact that I am still not clear on what I want to do in the future and it may sound like things aren’t looking too promising. On the contrary, I have learned a lot about myself and the “real world.” For example, I now know that I do not want to work with software implementation, sales, or in the typical office atmosphere. I’ve also learned that the present is far too interesting to spend all of your time worrying about figuring life out and trying to orchestrate your future. Life changes and new opportunities arise. Therefore, I’ve decided to lessen my grip on security blankets and try new things, even if I’m not sure they are the best option.

4. What you hope/plan to do in the near future
About to graduate, I had no idea what I wanted to do so I applied to teachers’ college just to see if I would get in. As it turns out, I was accepted at the U of T and now have to decide whether I want to go. Being a teacher is not something I have ever been passionate about and I’m not sure if it is something I would want to do for the rest of my life. However, there are a lot of benefits to having the option and it could turn out to be very satisfying–able to promote social justice to future generations, not being stuck in an office, and getting my beloved summers back! My grade 11 Physics teacher once said that there are no right or wrong decisions in life, there is only what you make and learn from those decisions. With this in mind, I plan to take the chance and see how it works out.

5. A short note on the SJPS program
The point of this email was to find out what graduates DO with the SJPS degree. Because the degree is so overarching, it is important to recognize that the benefits of the program go beyond the career paths it leads to. An important aspect of the program is how well it prepares one for adult life in society. The SJPS experience is a very eye-opening one. I think it teaches students valuable lessons and makes them more dynamic individuals, something that is greatly rewarded in the “real world.”

6. Book Recommendations (both are very short)
The Alchemist
The Tao of Pooh

My recent post on the “Out of a Job Yet? Keep Buying Foreign” bumper stickers caused a bit of controversy, as I expected. As somewhat of a follow-up to that post, I’d like to pose the question, does buying locally really matter to people?

I ask this because on my way home for lunch last week I saw a van pull in front of me with a bumper sticker that read “Made in Canada Matters.” A little better than the “Out of a Job Yet?” stickers, but still somewhat annoying, I wondered whether or not the people promoting these stickers were true to buying local. As if the universe were answering my question, the van pulled into a parking lot… and not just any parking lot.

“No way,” I said to myself, “He won’t.” As he pulled in, the driver could either turn right and go to Harvey’s or turn left and go to Dollarama. Sure enough, he turned left, parked, and walked into Dollarama, the epitome of all things “Made in China.” I couldn’t resist this photo op so I turned into the next entrance, parked, and snapped a quick shot of the ironic moment.

So, assuming that this guy wasn’t driving his friend’s car (I’m sure someone would have brought up the possibility), it seems fair to say that either 1) The guy honestly doesn’t know that the vast majority of things in Dollarama are made in China or 2) He just isn’t really bothered to think about/care about it. Since you would have to live under a rock to fit scenario #1, I’m thinking that “Made in Canada” doesn’t really matter in this case.

What do you think? Are people toting these bumper stickers because they really care whether their products are made locally, or are they doing it because they’re upset that their industry is hurting due to the recession? Does “Made in Canada” (or the USA) really effect peoples’ daily life decisions?