I haven’t written a ‘life update’ in quite a while, so I thought now is as a good a time as any to give everyone the low down on what’s been going on in my life recently.

1) This semester is my last in college as an undergraduate. I’ll be walking down the aisle to recieve my diploma next Friday, a Bachelor of the Arts in Anthropology. It’s been a long, sometimes difficult road to get to that little sheet of paper, but I’m proud to say that I gave it everything I had, and that I have no regrets about my college experience at LSU. It has truly been wonderful, with all kinds of unexpected suprises along the way. Naturally, I couldn’t have done it without all the support from my family and friends. For the record, I guess I should also mention that I will be graduating as a University Medalist, a distinction of merit awarded to graduates with exceptional grades.

2) After graduation, I (as of now) plan to continue living here in the capital city at my current residence until December of 2007. I am currently looking for jobs here in town, as well as pursuing a few remote possibilities recently brought to my attention out of state and (in one case) out of the country. More than likely though, I’ll be employed near by, hopefully no later than mid-June. Oddly enough, today was my last official day as the lab assistant/tech that I’ve been at now for the last three years or so. I have to admit, I’m sad to be leaving, but I’m looking forward to the change as well.

3) I’ll be in David and Des’ wedding in a few weeks, which is really exciting. For my part, I’m currently (pleasantly) single, and really enjoying all the free time which that affords me.

4) I do have plans to apply and probably attend graduate school in the near future, possibly as soon as next January. Although nothing is certain yet, I’m about 85 percent sure that I’ll be pursuing some post-graduate work, though where that may be is still unclear. I have a great deal of mixed feelings about more university work, but it also looks like my opportunities for pursuing my interests may be extremely limited if I choose to stay here in LA. Consequently, all educational aspects aside, grad school is looking like a win-win scenario in terms of allowing me to gain a foothold in another place where life opportunities may be more accessible.

5) Dreams, Dreams, Dreams. Since this is a major turning point in my life, I think it’s a good time to re-evaluate all those ‘life dreams’ that have been popping up in my mind over the last four years. I’m happy to report that most of them are, I think, still possible. Here’s a short list of what I’d like to do in my post college life:
– I’d like to travel to India or Japan, the sooner the better. My special focus in school has been on South Asian culture and I would really like to experience those places first hand.
– I’d like to live outside of the United States for at least one year. I’m not particular about where.
– I hope to continue playing and practicing music, learning about new musics and playing with as many people as I can. Perhaps even doing some shows in public if I can figure out an angle on what I’d like to play for people.
– I’d like to continue to write, both here on this blog and perhaps also something more substantial – a book maybe? Again, I need some focus and direction here.
– I have passing dreams about doing some serious hiking, like the entire AT or Pacific Coast trail. This would be difficult, but possible.
– I have a remote fantasy of some day owning and running my own small book/music or garden store.

It’ll be interesting to look back on this list in four years and see if I’ve been able to check off any of these things – I’m glad that I think most of them are still in the realm of possibility, although perhaps I’m being overtly optomistic (as usual).

As you might be able to tell, my future is open – and for this I am glad. However, this kind of openess can be overwhelming as well. So, just now, I’m trying to take things one day at a time, and trusting that the distant future will take care of itself. Life is much more manigable now if I don’t get too bogged down in what the near future may or may not hold.

However, speaking of the near future, I need to get to bed now as I’m finally taking my final final tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck!

This entry was posted by jon on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 8:41 pm and is filed under journal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.