It's about that time of year again, when summer seeps in through wide-open windows, graduation caps fill the air, and sappy, cheesy, and nostalgic year-in-review blog posts clog MySQL databases everywhere. [Note: I started writing this in May. Quit yer yammerin'!] This is one of those blog posts. Mostly it's just my opportunity to rant and reminisce about just what exactly happened in the last
525,600 minutes of my life.
So where am I now? Well for starters, I'm at approximately the same place around the sun (within 3 or 4 orders of magnitude. close enough). And for most intents and purposes, I'm approximately the same. I live in the same place, I'm STILL Computer Coordinator, AND I STILL CAN'T PLAY MY EFFING GUITAR! Unlike astronomy, however, 3 or 4 orders of magnitude is pretty big on a scale as tiny as mine, and that's exactly where I've gotten since that time.
For example, being 21 is 3 or 4 orders of magnitude more awesome than being 20, for obvious reasons. Which, by the way, I would not have been able to take advantage of were it not for a fortuitous discovery at the beginning of last fall. We will leave the explanation to my bewildered friends, a slightly less content liver, and a habit of filling up the water pitcher whenever I leave home (for I'm sure I wouldn't be able to give a complete account)
The results of this discovery, in turn, would not have come to fruition were it not for another even more fortuitous discovery: a life! While I'm still not quite the social animal that my genes are supposed to have programmed me to be, I have been rather more able to enjoy the company of other people this past year. Crazy stuff this "having a life" thing is. Interesting that my most social semester would be coupled with my best semester GPA. Hmmm. Maybe I should have been a party animal from the beginning!
Maybe I would have even gotten a research job earlier too. But no matter, I'm now working on a satellite with a launch date set for next year. AND I'm getting paid for it. Take THAT URAP! Though few people in the project actually know what they're doing, I really enjoy the company of those in the lab, and I might even get a chance to present at a small conference if I finish my project. Tell THAT to 2009 David Clarino.
Most importantly though, being a senior is 3 or 4 orders of magnitude more AWESOME than being a junior. Why? Because a) it feels better when you yell at stupid newmen b) it feels better when you yell at stupid newmen c) it feels better when you yell at stupid newmen and d) you can say "when I was a newman..." and have it actually mean something, and then proceed to yell at stupid newmen, because it feels better. Also your classes are effing AWESOME. Also, you only have one more year until you (and your parents' bank accounts) are done with the pain that is college. Also, HOLY FUCK WHEN THE HELL DID I BECOME A SENIOR?!?!
Such a realization would have panicked me a year ago. But as I've said before, every year seems to teach me lessons in relation to some sort of theme. If you've been following my blog posts through the year, you might already guess what it is: purpose and direction. I have a path set out for after college (including a Plan B...and C...and D...) because, you know what, real life starts in less than 365 days. I'm not afraid at all of leaving the warm embrace of this campus that I love so much because, much like my mother at home, she's prepared me for everything that'll come before me. I'm not afraid of wanting to come back to it all, because I have friends I can keep up with and reminisce about the good old days. Most importantly, I know my best days are ahead of me because of all that I have gotten this year. So here's to one more year of this crazy ass shit we call college, one more year of making 70 year old David's liver mad, and another year of taking this one step at a time.
No Regrets
