Protecting My Precious Berklee Catalog Year – Part 7 (Should I Really Waste My Money? Pt. 1)

September 30, 2013

The Simpsons rolling in a huge pile of money in their living room
If only, right? (Photo credit: Matt Groening/Fox (The Simpsons))

Picking up from yesterday

I was trying to justify why it’s okay to drop $2,500 as basically a fee to keep my catalog year.

I’ve spent money on stupider things before. Geez, for instance, my trip to Big Sur during my half marathons. I really mis-planned that.

I’m sure I could go through my bank statements and find things that really aren’t necessary. However, to spend a lump sum of $2,500 on something unnecessary? That’s gonna feel different from bits and pieces of unnecessary money adding up over months or years.

$2,500. Let’s think about all the things that could be.

That could be rent (for multiple months since I have such a great deal on my apartment).

That could be a climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro! (Granted, I haven’t researched that very much. There may be better (and more expensive) climbs/companies. But on my first click in a google search, I saw a place leading climbs for under $2,500.)

That could be a trip to New York City. For $2,500, you could actually stay for a bit and see some wonderful Broadway shows.

It could be 272(!) dance classes.

That’s almost 5-ish classes in writing and/or improv at UCLA Extension, The Groundlings, or many other writing and/or performing schools out here.

Even if we think about unselfish things for a second, think of all the good $2,500 could do for any number of charities.

And in between selfless/selfish, you could give money to the Clinton Foundation and meet Hillary Clinton(!) for that $2,500.

I could go on forever with the list of things I could do/experience/learn/etc. for $2,500.

(Seriously. Imagine the practically unlimited possibilities – healthy food plans, or personal training sessions, or 20 marathons, and on and on and on and on.)

Or, I could use it to pay to do more work somewhere in Los Angeles.

I’d, of course, rather do any of those previously mentioned things.

In general, I’m actually really against the idea of internships for college credit, because I think it creates an even bigger gap between those who have the means to do them and those who don’t. College credits costs money – a lot of money, obviously. (Though yes, I’ll admit, some cost less than others.)

I’m not so against internships for credit that I wouldn’t do one. But I don’t necessarily think they’re right.

I have said before that I never wanted to spend money in order to work for free, because that truly sounds ridiculous. To work for free is already pretty rough. To pay to work? It sounds a little insane to me.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

I'd love to hear from you! So whaddya say?