I graduated yesterday. I am officially a Master of Science in Telecommunications. It’s a surreal feeling, one that’s making me very giddy this whole time. This degree in MS is, for me, the last time I’ll be in an academic setting for a long time. The reason I’m feeling so weird is because that’s where I’ve been my whole life. Leaving this behind is a strange feeling and it’s something I’m afraid of.
Believe me, I’m not afraid of life ahead. There’s a lot to look forward to. Work means more stability in life. It also means more funds to do what I want with them. But the stability brings with itself a time bound life. No more late night Netflix galas when I want. No more dinner at 1 AM. It’s all got to be fixed from now on. That’s something! The money, of course, is a good thing. But now I’ll have to plan how to use that money, instead of taking a vacation when I want, I’ll have to think about when I can and what I’ll do once I do so. Just today, I was looking at a product called Google Schemer. I’ve been a member ever since it came out in beta but I never paid any attention to it. Today I looked at it properly. It’s filled with things people want to or have done and think would be good for others to do. Those things include trips to your local natural parks, reading interesting books and learning new art, craft or languages. That’s a good starting point for me to begin. Another service that is somewhat similar is OneFeat. I like it because you can challenge your friends to do interesting things on it. I only wish my friends would be up for the challenge now.
I believe that a person’s life is four parts. One is as a student. There’s time to explore your interests, look at the world with a gaping mouth and wonder why people rush through their lives like that. Two is as a worker. There’s a strict schedule to follow and life’s meaning revolves around excelling at work and your personal interests. The worker is now balancing two things, work and personal life. Three is as a family member. There are added responsibilities and time is not according to yourself or your job. Personal interests need not be put at a back burner but time needs to be found painstakingly for them. More things need to be balanced. Four, finally, is as a retiree. You’ve gone and done it all. You’ve reached the pinnacle of your career, you’re retired from work, but not your family. You’ve found a lot more time for personal interests. But you need to work hard towards getting to them. In no way can I put a timeline to these four parts, each varies according to circumstance. But in the end, what remains is that in ever phase of life, one can easily look up at the world with a gaping mouth and wonder, just wonder.