In 40 days:
I will no longer be a student.
I will be employed full-time.
I will have no more classes.
I will be earning a decent paycheck.
I will not have homework to do over the weekend.
I will be working for the GAO.
I will no longer see some good friends from W&M on a regular basis.
I will start making new friends in a new place.
I will enjoy having my nights free of projects and papers.
I will enjoy more carefree time with my wife.
I will start looking for a new home - with a yard.
I will, for the first time, be a working man.
For as long as Danielle can probably remember now, I have been looking forward to no longer being a graduate student but instead working and earning money for our family. That day is rapidly approaching, and I am not upset in the least. But I have noticed that more and more lately I have been talking about how many days are left until then. I keep looking forward. I keep anticipating what will be. I keep wishing that day was here.
Anticipation can be a good thing. Forward planning can be a good thing. Wishing can be a good thing. But all good things are only good in moderation. I've been thinking lately that perhaps I am dwelling on what will be at the expense of what is now. I still have another month of classes, with several papers/projects to finish up (read: start and finish). Perhaps one of the things I am most excited about is tackling a paper about embryonic stem cell research, which is an incredibly complicated but incredibly important ethical issue in this day of remarkable scientific capabilities. Furthermore, this is my last major piece of worthwhile work I will do as a student, and I wanna go out with a bang!
President Bill Brown of Cedarville University would challenge us with the following: "Today is one more day, but it is also one less day." The idea is that we choose what do with our day - whether to waste it or to squeeze every moment out of it for something that will last beyond the day...indeed, beyond even our lives. My challenge is to stop focusing so much on 40 days from now, but to focus on living the day I have been given today.
