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Interesting ... I see how this set of questions led to "journalism" as the answer, but as much as I like expressing myself, I find writing "on assignment" stressful. And the reason I got As in math and Bs in science in high school was that I wasn't graded on my lab notebook in math class.

I majored in mathematics. I was nearly as tempted to major in literature, but it was the amount of writing I'd have to do that tipped the scales in favour of math. (Hmm. It occurs to me that even the folks I went to school with probably didn't know that about me.) So maybe, even as math-identified as I am (and boy do I fit the way we're portrayed in mathematician jokes), perhaps the idea of me as a journalism major isn't so bizarre. I did write for the school newspapers in high school and university. But my shyness[1] would be (and was) an obstacle to being a good reporter. (I know that's not the only job in journalism, but it does seem to be a common starting place, isn't it?)

So seeing journalism and philosophy up at the top makes some sense ... but seeing mathematics so far down the list strikes me as quite odd. Behind engineering? (I was known, in school, to sneer, "Don't sully my lovely abstractions with that applied stuff!" ... only mostly joking.) Behind dance?! #blink# Dance? Me? I mean, theatre, sure, okay, but dance? I admire[2] and respect dancers, and envy them the self-confidence I lack in that regard as well as their delightful grace, but everything I did in school that related to the aesthetics of the human body in motion, I did on the soccer field.

I'd never really thought, "how would my life have been different if I'd gone into journalism instead of computers back then," despite occasionally having reporter-ish urges and even more frequent desires to effect change in the ways that journalists can do. That's going to be an interesting contemplation. Hmm.

[1] No, no, I am most certainly not joking, though that's usually the response I get when I mention being shy. Okay, I'm less shy now than I was twenty years ago, but mostly I've learned a) ways to compensate (somewhat), and b) ways to disguise it (really well). Also, a lot of people mistake being a performer for not-being-shy, but they're different phenomena. Put me in the spotlight, and I know what to do. Tell me to go pester someone I don't know for a story, or make a bunch of phone calls, and I freeze. To handle a job interview, I have to reframe it as performance art. Dealing with bureacracy kinda freaks me out. Public speaking? No problem. Approaching someone to tell them they should hire me? Difficult as hell. And is it any surprise that the big professional-photographer skill I lack is sales/marketing? A few people say, "Oh yes, I recognized that," when the topic of my shyness comes up; many more refuse to believe it. But I'm not kidding -- it's a problem I've got.

[2] "Admire" may be too weak a word ... but I try not to let my staring, drooling, and panting be too obvious.