Now that I am done with school (finally, I know!), people keep asking me, "What are you going to do now?" Apparently, I was supposed to have a plan.
Well, surprisingly enough, I do not have a plan.
Which is not to say that I don't have things to do, or things I want to do. I have a job that I enjoy, and that keeps getting better every day. I have more courses to teach and will hopefully be leading a faculty / student research group in the fall. I also have lots of running plans! And I am looking forward to spending time with my friends and family, because I know I have not done enough of that over the past year.
Despite all these "plans" though, I also feel that there is a change coming. Possibly a significant change. I don't know what it is, but this is the year for it. There is a little numerology behind this assertion.
My lucky number is 6. I was born on the 6th day of the 6th month, and each year that my age has totaled 6 has been a year that has brought significant change into my life. For example, the year I turned 6 we moved from NJ to NY; if I had grown up in Jersey I would be a completely different person. The year I turned 15, I left home and went to a boarding school in Lake Placid, which again significantly impacted the trajectory of my life. When I turned 24, I went off to get my MA in Somerville, which led me to UNH and the life that I have now.
So this year, once again, I hit an age that totals 6, so I anticipate change. And I am ready for change, whatever it might be. I doubt that it will be a move across the country, or even across MA since I have a job that I love and live in a place that I love. I think that this time the change will be more internal than external. Each of my past Year-6's have coincided with a change in physical location that led to a new path. This time, I am thinking the path will develop from personal change and growth.
Usually, I am a very anxious person, and change worries me. For some reason, I am excited about this change. I can feel it coming already in my workplace, as I am handed new responsibilities every day and am given plenty of supportive opportunities to test myself. I am also anticipating change in my personal life. In three days I will be running a marathon for the first time. I plan to do a lot more of that, and to hopefully become strong enough to start running ultra-marathons as well. I am also looking for new, fun things to try out. I am going to start rock-climbing this summer, for example--even though I am terrified of heights.
But I know this isn't all of the change that is coming my way. There will be new adventures and new friends that I can't anticipate. I know that some of the years between now and the next Year-6 (OMG, I will be 42!!) will not be all fun and adventure; there will be loses and rough times and all the things that the past 9 years have had, and all the years before that. But each of those things are important way-stations along the path; they make it more like a hike through the mountains (ups and downs, beautiful views--I trust you to follow the metaphor from here) rather than a straight drive across Kansas (which I understand is very flat and not particularly exciting unless you really, really like fields). And hiking more mountains is also one of the things I intend to do with myself in this new incarnation!
So... I probably should end this with a witty remark about making sure I have a compass so I don't get lost on my new path. But, I'm not going to. Because I think that getting a little lost will make it more exciting. And that is what you--my lovely friends--are here for, so that I am not out hiking by myself the whole way, and so that if we get a little lost together, you can help me back onto the path.
I run - a lot. And while I run, my brain passes the time with all sort of random ideas, thoughts, and questions. Then I come home and write about them. So this blog is about all the crazy things my brain has to say while I am out, just trying to find some peace and quiet! Mostly I write about running and food, but sometimes I write about cats, parallel universes, neuroscience, or werewolves. Really, there is no telling what my brain will come up!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Pace of play
In baseball, pace of play refers to how long it takes for individual plays to happen and the overall length of the game. It's also the...
-
I spent several years of my life (like the last decade) studying and applying theories related to motivated behaviors, mostly in the con...
-
As you may know, I am huge fan of super hoppy Indian Pale Ale-style beers. In fast, as a general rule, I will not order anything else at a...
-
While trapped in the car on Friday, making my slow way across MA and NY, I had a lot of time to think about how I ended up in Boston. Most ...
No comments:
Post a Comment