When you tell people that you are studying philosophy, their first question is almost always the same: “What are you going to do with that?” I usually resist the temptation to hold forth on the intrinsic good of education. Instead, I answer that for some time I have had a pipe dream (so to speak), a plan B, and a plan C. (Fallback plans are something you need with a degree in philosophy.) Plan C would be to become a professional web designer, something I have been doing part-time for several years. Plan B would be to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy in the hopes of some day teaching at the university level. The pipe dream has always been a little hard to describe. About three years ago when I was living in Spain I started dreaming of ways in which I could combine my love for understanding and for ideas with my creative impulse. I had ambitious ideas of films and web magazines and a superhero comic, but opportunities such as these aren’t exactly listed in the Classifieds. Nonetheless, for at least the next six months I am going to have the privilege of pursuing this pipe dream.

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