Having my birthday provided the perfect opportunity for me to think back upon the last year. So many things changed and happened over the last year , so that at times its weird to even try and think about just one thing. I know that it is trivial to say, but the last year really changed my life. Up till now I would have said that the only other year of my life that has such an impact on my life was my senior year of high school when I lived in Italy through AFS. Which I guess in hindsight shouldn't really surprise me all that much that me senior of college would also have a profound impact on my life. And I guess it won't surprise me a year from now when I look back and say that this year has been another life-changing experience.
For the longest time I really only had one goal: to graduate from ud and to go to grad school. Now don't get me wrong, the past four years at ud were awesome. I loved my major and my friends, and my life.. and I was so sure I knew exactly what I wanted, but as it normally goes, it wasn't meant to be. At this point most of my friends have started new jobs and are off to their new lives. Part of me is envious of them because they have the next step of their lives planned out. In a blink of an eye they went from engineering student to working for some company or in some lab... and then there is me.
Although I have not given up the idea of going to graduate school and pursuing my ultimate goal of being a prof, I realized that it was not the right rime for it. So now I find myself two months away from moving to Rwanda for a year. Considering 'recent' history many people have asked my why, but what I really want to say to all of them is why not?
I know that the next year of my life will be full of surprises and that most likely anything that I could predict might happen won't, so I'm not even going to try. But I can say that I haven't had anything this exciting before me in a while, and I haven't felt this kindof anticipation in a while.
Either way all I know is that since I have graduated I have become just one little CHEG in a big big world :)
