My undergraduate degree is in psychology. Then I worked in medical research for 5 years before I started graduate school to study landscape architecture, my profession and passion for the last 42 years. Do I wish I had found it earlier? Of course! Sometimes people ask me if that time in psychology and medicine was a waste. No! To a surprising degree, I use what I learned in those disciplines almost every day. Education is never a waste for the open and curious mind.
Instead, prove them wrong. But reasonably, a person should be able to take care of himself and at least have a backup plan.
The phrase "sex sells" is a real thing. And teens are infamous for being driven by their hormones and making stupid decisions because of it. That was my interpretation of that post, anyhow.
Bjorn started bonsai at a young age too, if I remember from his videos. There's something about finding your passion so early on and knowing that you want to commit your life to it, just having that immediate assuredness of where you want to go, that I envy.
.. you’ll never know who you meet in this forum either … you might work with them someday too. Use your proximity, get some years under your belt, then hit up Bjorn in the future again.
I understand and completely agree with your sentiment. Making stupid decisions and being a corrupted person, fouled because you are attracted to someone are worlds apart though.
This is being a little pedantic, but Kathy Shaner was the first US apprentice in Japan, and she lead an evolution of bonsai in the US afterwards. Her contribution really shouldn't be forgotten, even if it's not as well known
I thought John Naka was born in USA moved back to Japan as a kid, learnt bonsai then moved back to USA. So he was a American too unless you don't mean American but of white European decent? There quite a few Americans who have contributed too bonsai in the USA and the world beyond bjorn and Ryan. I haven't even mentioned Bill. V another well respected excellence American master bonsai. There is a wealth of talent in usa and has been for a long time due to your association/relationship and proximity to japan.
I didn't think you were trying to belittle Kathy! Just was trying to point it out that Ryan wasn't the first, just the one with the best marketing. He's mentioned a handful of times on his podcast how crucial Kathy was for breaking the ice and making it possible for other apprentices
Next year I will be attending high school. I believe trade school is only for the last 2 years of high school . I technically have a local bonsai club but someone told me that it’s more a hangout club than bonsai ! There is a nursery about 1 hour and 30 plus minutes away so nothing close .
Try to get most of the mandatory credits knocked out in your first two years- then you will be able to attend the trade school in the final years. I seriously took all photo classes my senior year except government and economics my first semester. Then I graduated in January.
