Revised essay

Following My Dream
Trevor Gustafson

[Intro]
An architect is a person who talks with a client; finds there needs, and designs a building for the client. I am enthralled by the concept of having an enormous idea in my head, drawing it, and having it built. One thing I like about the career of architecture is the many different faces involved with the job. There’s sitting down and talking with the client, there’s drawing the blueprints and there’s visiting the construction site to make sure everything is going as planned. I like a job that has varied work environments instead of the same things day after day. The biggest reason I am attracted to architecture, however, is probably my love for buildings.
I am attracted to buildings. I honestly have no idea why, but for as long as I can remember, architecture has fascinated me. I love seeing building from the time the foundation is poured to the time the building is one-hounded years old I love buildings. My parents dread when we drive by an interesting building because I always glue my face to the window to see out, thus leaving breathe prints on the window. Whenever I walk into a building and notice a floor plan on the wall, I am drawn like a magnet to the plan. Those who are with me think I belong in a mental institute; I mean who actually reads those building maps? I do. I don’t know why. I just do. When I go to a museum I tend to be more fascinated by things such as the way the walls meet the ceiling than I am with the exhibits. Sometimes my interests seem extremely weird, even to me.
Do I get this passion from a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or a family friend? I don’t personally know anyone who is an architect. So where did this passion come from?
I might possibly have inherited this passion from my grandpa. He was a carpenter. However I can’t really remember ever seeing him do much carpentry work. Could it be that passion is inherited? I don’t know. But I don’t want to become a carpenter because I couldn’t stand working out in the rain that we so often get here in beautiful Washington State.
I hate being out in the rain. There is nothing more irritating than having to be outside, getting soaked. Buildings were initially built for the sole purpose of keeping out the elements. Maybe I love architecture because I dislike the elements so much. My love of buildings however does not in any way keep me tucked inside all day. I am an outdoors person. Hiking, backpacking, and biking are some of my favorite activities. I just like doing these activities when it’s not raining.
Out of all the possible reasons that I might have gained this desire to design buildings, I believe the foremost reason I have been given this desire is because God gave it to me. God uses some desires to show me what he wants me to do. God has given me many gifts. One of those gifts I believe is architecture. The gifts God has given me should be used wisely. I don’t want to waste a gift. However I have been given many gifts. Which one should I utilize as a career? Another gift I believe I have been given is the gift of music. I have played the violin for more than half my life. Does God want me to bless others through a career as a musician, or with the gift of architecture? I can also use my gifts besides in a career form. I enjoy playing old-time music at senior homes with my band. There are some gifts that can be used as a hobby instead of as a career.
I don’t love absolutely everything involved in architecture. For one thing it takes a ton of school to even become an architect. The pay is also not the greatest. However I still believe that I want to become an architect. I have considered doing another job. I imagine going to work day after day after day and wondering what if? What if I had become an architect? What would I be doing right now? To me being content in an occupation is more important than having a career that provides a vacation to the Bahamas, a Ferrari, and an eight thousand square foot house. I know that there are many people who would rather take the money and settle for a job that there not exited about, but that’s not how I am. Contentedness in a career is also worth a lot of work to me. I am willing to go through the five years of school required for me to become an architect. I don’t really like school, but I am willing to make sacrifices in order to become an architect.
I could take a different occupation besides architecture. There are plenty of other occupations with similar qualities as architecture. Manufacturing, for example, designs and sees things built, but I am not attracted to manufacturing. I love buildings. Why not become a general contractor? Because I hate the rain. There are many occupations with similar aspects as architecture, but none that I know of are as appealing as architecture. I am open to different ideas. I have taken on-line career assessments, but for the record those are messed up. No I do not wish to become a nuclear engineer.
Someone I have talked with about the idea of becoming an architect is local architect, Michael Smith, who works at Zervus Group architects. I asked him about what all is involved in becoming an architect, what school to go to, and what classes to take at community college to prepare for a transfer degree. We also discussed his latest project, Bayview Tower, the twenty-tree story condominium planned for downtown Bellingham. Michael is in charge of coordinating all the designers involved on the project. Just to hear him talk about this awesome project was an encouragement to become an architect.
Closing