PotD – 01/18/10
Missed a few days there. Generally, I don’t plan on posting anything on weekends, simply because I need a few days’ break. But then I got caught up in work and school and the whole thing slipped my mind.
That sort of thing happens a lot, of course, and to everyone. In retrospect, we always think of things we wish we’d remembered to do – or had the courage to do.
One of the reasons I jumped back into this blog was to ensure that my brain didn’t turn into little more than theory-laden mush (now with symbolism!). But another was to record the general daily sensibilities of graduate school life. And often, it’s easy to look back on what I could be doing now 0 the life I could be having – and not be a bit nostalgic. Instead of constant 18 hour days filled with reading, learning, and developing new ideas, I could have had an average 9-10 hour day doing the same thing (albeit a bit more restricted). Instead of a step or two above abject poverty, I could be living pretty well. Instead of future job uncertainty, I could have stayed in the relative certainty of the job and market in which I was employed.
But as I was trying to convey to a friend today who was spiraling downward in an existential crisis: you can’t think of those things. There were reasons why I made the decision I did, and they relate to life long goals, medium term interests, and, yes, some short term satisfactions.
The past is always a bit shinier in the rearview mirror, but there’s a reason you’re driving away from it.
Photo taken outside (I think) Cincinnati.
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