Outline Format

Outline Format:

1. Introduction
   2012. Hook: I belong to the Generation Y, also known as Millennials. According to the statistics my big “coming out” to the world was supposed to happen by 2012. And still 9 years later, I have not finished my educational journey. I’ve always thought that I am the only one unfulfilled personality. By over the time talking to my friends and peers, I have realized there are many young people on the threshold of their third decade, who still haven’t decided what they want to be as professionals. In this narrative essay I will try understand the reason of this deceleration in Generation Y and myself in particular.
   2013. Topic: The rate of unreturning students unfortunately has a tendency to grow. There are many reasons to that – lack of financial funds, poor academic performance, unforeseen family circumstances. But according to my observations, the main reason is also students’ realization of a wrongly chosen degree.
   2014. Thesis =

CLAIM: The educational journey is about to find yourself in something what will fulfill and satisfy you as a professional.

REASONS:

• Parents and teachers should not choose children’s career, but they should guide them in the right way.
• The path to professional development is a path through trials and errors, and sometimes it can take longer than expected.
• The money is definitely important aspect in life, but it should not be a key point in choosing your future career, self-satisfaction and significance of your work would earn all the money.

2. Body Paragraph #1 = REASON #1
   1. Topic Sentence (reason): Parents and teachers should not choose children’s career, but they should guide them in the right way.
   2. Point: How often parents (not intentionally) choose their children’s future job, insisting on specific colleges and degrees. Of course, every parent wants the best for their offspring, and very often they try to carry out their own dreams in kids’ future.
   3. Illustration = Evidence/Examples: My family carries four generations of engineers. And for my siblings and me, the choice of future career was a foregone conclusion. The first “victim” was my older brother. Being an A-student in school, he always felt connected to the nature, and dreamed of becoming a ranger. But for my parents, very well-known and respected engineers in the city, it was out of question. Back than the rangers hardly made any money, and it also meant to live somewhere in wilderness. My parents made a choice for my brother to apply to Polytechnical University and become a power engineer. Many years later, he graduated successfully, and became one of the best and demanded tester of turbine equipment in the country. It seems everything worked out in the best way for him. But his dream of becoming a ranger still haunts him, he bought a land surrounded by forest in the suburbs of the city, built his house there, and in his free time he takes long walks in the forest, dreaming about his retirement.
   4. Explanation: My parents had the best intentions for my brother when choosing his career. Of course, they had in minds secure life for him, which in their opinion could be achieved only with the engineer’s salary. And, in my opinion, just because my brother has always been responsible, he achieved such career heights, but the satisfaction from his job was never achieved.

3. Body Paragraph #2 = REASON #2
4. Topic Sentence (reason): The path to professional development is a path through trials and errors, and sometimes it can take longer than expected.
5. Point: My journey to the education world started back in 1995 when I first entered the walls of primary school. Since that time my path to education has never stopped, but rather been interrupted by several steps-back in order to reevaluate the whole path.
6. Illustration = Evidence/Examples: The first memory of my educational journey probably goes to the second grade, when whole class got an interactive assignment to write about main cultural differences between men and women clothes. Hardly knowing how to spell correctly, but with a huge enthusiasm, I outlined the main differences on the piece of paper and handed it to my first teacher – exceedingly kind and experienced lady. She was so amazed by my work, that she read it at loud for the entire class putting my work as an example. I still remember that feeling of satisfaction and self-pride. It was probably for the first time of my eight-year-old life that somebody, but my parents, was satisfied and proud of my work. I still remember how inspired I was, and school seemed the best what could happen to me.

Over the years in school that feeling began to vanish away with the young kid’s preconception – to be a nerd is not cool. I still managed to stay a B-plus student till the graduation.

My second, and probably the longest, phase of educational journey started at college. For the past 14 years I obtained a BA degree and changed three colleges still trying to pursue myself in a way to be able to awake that feeling of eight-year-old me.

After being admitted to the City College’s Engineering school, I thought I almost succeeded, but being a young adult with a decent salary in the greatest city of the world, I slightly shifted my priorities not towards education. I still remember how almost failing the exam in linear algebra equations, my professor – an older, very reputable man –  approached me and very politely hinted that this degree might not sue me very well. I have never felt more humiliated, ashamed and angry. And, of course, I was angry of him, and ashamed of myself. For the rest of the semester, I overcame myself and managed to pass that class with B plus. At that point I wanted to prove that professor was wrong about me and I could be a successful engineer. But several semesters later, I realized that the chosen path would not bring my second-degree emotions and satisfaction back.

My final phase of educational journey started three years ago in NYCCT. Spontaneous advice of my mother-in-law brought me back to the school. After several years of torturing myself of what I want to do, my mother-in-law suggested by chance “Why don’t you become an architect?”. To say it shocked me is to say nothing. I have always considered architects as gods of the construction industry. In order to become an architect, I thought, you need to be out of this world, irrational, super creative, and, of course, you need to have drawing skills of da Vinci. Obviously, I do not have a tiny bit of all these.  Nevertheless, I decided to try, and got excepted to the department. And from the first class I realized that to be an architect is really what I was looking for; I just did not know it before.

1. Explanation: Being in Junior year in the architecture program, has really been a blast. Despite the fact, that some professors are a bit younger than me, and my groupmates roll their eyes finding out my age, it is the best time of my educational journey. After every presentation of new projects, I get to experience the same feeling I had in the second grade. The professors’ critique and praise make me feel encouraged, satisfied, and willing to make the next project even better.

3. Body Paragraph #3 = REASON #3
   1. Topic Sentence (reason): The money is definitely important aspect in life, but it should not be a key point in choosing your future career, self-satisfaction and significance of your work would earn all the money.
   2. Point: Statement “The best job is a high-paid hobby” by Henry Ford.

In the modern world the race for money became an indispensable part for career hunting. But very often young people forget or don’t realize how important satisfaction from what you do is.

1. Illustration = Evidence/Examples: For over seven years I worked in one of the world’s famous hotel as a bartender. I have met people from all over the world of different occupations and backgrounds. And as usual we had some small conversations with the patrons at the bar. The typical questions were Where I was from and What I do besides this job. At the time when I was in engineering school, I would tell my guests that I was a student. And their reaction was priceless. The words of encouragement, approval, and satisfaction would flow in my name. People, who had businesses a over the world, would tell me their stories, how they started as waiters and grew further tirelessly in order to finish college and to become who they are now. But at the time I was off the college (so called re-evaluating time), I had a sense of my guests’ disapproval and disappointment. At that time, I was a little bit annoyed by their reaction, because in my opinion, I achieved a lot as an immigrant. I had a secured job in the union house, a six-digit salary, insurance and benefits. But at the same time, I felt like something was left off – a dream of self-fulfillment. And I knew the only way to fill that gap to go back to school, but to study what was another question.
2. Explanation: It took me some time to realize that money is not the only important thing to consider. I did make a decent amount of money, even more than some my friends with Business degree made. But the way you talk, you feel, you perceive yourself about what you do is even more important than money.

4. Conclusion
   1. Restate Thesis: What is important in education – is not only to get a degree just because you are expected to, but really decide what field and career will bring you the satisfaction of the process and the result.
   2. Summarize Evidence/Points: Sometimes the best advice or hint for your future career path hides where you don’t expect it. You should appreciate all the advice and suggestions your parents and teachers give you in high school, but the main choice is yours. You shouldn’t be scared of a long educational journey, if you do what you really like the time will fly by. You should not be in a race for money as a priority, if what you do really gives you fulfillment, the money will come along.
   3. Answer “so what?: It is totally fine if in the middle of your educational journey, you realize that it is not what you want to do in the future. It is totally fine to take step back from education and re-evaluate your path. It is never late to come back to school and start a path to your dream job even if you have doubts. The result of self-satisfaction and fulfillment will be worth it.