It's never too late to pursue your dreams

The coming of a new year always brings new resolutions.

Besides resolving to write a book, I've said one of my big resolutions for 2012 is to go back to school. I'm a big believer in education, even if it's later in life.

My only problem is I've got a long list of careers to research before I make a decision. The possibilities are endless -- at least once I get some money saved up and some loans approved.

Many think aboriginal people all get a free education, but if that were true, I'd probably go to school for life. There's a lot of competition for students with treaty status to get financial aid from their bands.

Here are a few options I gave some careful consideration so far.

First, it was film school. This has always been my "what would you do with yourself if you won a million dollars" job. I already have some experience in the television and film industry.

One of my favourite artists is Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin. She's been making films about aboriginal people for almost 40 years. If you haven't seen any of her documentaries -- for example, Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance -- you're missing out.

But there aren't any film schools near Winnipeg. Considering I have young kids and a mortgage, this option isn't ideal.

Maybe some courses through the Winnipeg Film Group would be more suited to this. I can continue with the Quentin Tarantino route and watch tons of good films, too.

Of course, if money were no object, I'd also check out Parsons School of Design in New York. I've got a background in graphic design and have found Haida fashion designer Dorothy Grant inspiring.

But this is a costly career path. I love fashion and sewing, so maybe a textiles course at the University of Manitoba or Red River College is more my style.

Then there's the school of pharmacy.

Like all professionals in the health-care industry, pharmacists are needed in small northern communities and across Canada. Hopefully, more and more aboriginal people will train for health-care jobs -- like my cousins Candace and Mercedes.

I nixed this idea for me, though. You have to be good at memorization and math.

Nutrition is another love of mine. I've done some research and found I could take a look at a human science degree. It would be great to learn everything I could about good nutrition and then help aboriginal people learn about healthy eating.

Some of the biggest health problems aboriginal people face are diabetes, obesity and heart disease. With better knowledge about nutrition, we can help fight those statistics.

Then there's architecture. One of my relatives is an engineer, and another is an architect. Could it be in the genes? I love good architecture, especially modern design that focuses on using sustainable and "green" materials.

Maybe an aboriginal architect could design sturdier low-cost housing for northern reserves. And imagine if we had a bunch of aboriginal architects like Douglas Cardinal around. It would be amazing to see the skylines of Canadian cities influenced by indigenous designs.

And finally, another dream is to go to school at the Asper School of Business. It sounds like a place where learning is intense and rewarding.

I enjoy being a business owner. That's why I've been self-employed for so many years. So maybe the Asper school is the way to go.

Who knows? Maybe I'll open an aboriginal-themed restaurant sooner than I think. It might not happen overnight, but at least I've got the wheels turning.

Here's the best to you, 2012, and remember, it's never too late to start working on a dream you've always had.

Colleen Simard is a Winnipeg writer.

colleen.simard@gmail.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 30, 2011 A1