Life has been moving pretty fast since I got back from school. After finishing my classes I went to Ohio to visit my great grandmother, who isn’t doing too well at the moment. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, and it felt good to spend some time with her and help her day pass by quicker. I’m sure it gets pretty boring being cooped up in a hospital for weeks at a time. But I know that’s where she needs to be right now. I love my great grandmother, and my other grandmothers and other extended family, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that there is a lot about these people that I don’t know. Many aspects of their lives are unknown to me. I guess that’s just how it goes with extended family, though. We aren’t around them all of the time, so we can’t keep up with everything that they are doing. But I’m starting to feel that disconnect more and more with my own family. I’ve been living away from home for over a year now and every time that I come home I feel a little more like a stranger. But it’s a disconnect that lends itself to growth and development. Since all of us now have our own lives to attend to it’s hard to keep track of everyone. My three youngest siblings are growing up so fast, and pretty soon will have to start considering college options for themselves. I’m excited to watch them and see what they become and what they accomplish. My next two younger brothers are very set in their own lives, so much so that I can’t seem to keep tabs on either of them, especially the younger one. He’s so busy now. It’s even hard to have a phone conversation with him. But we do talk when we get the chance, and he seems to be doing quite well for himself, what with all of the plays and commercials and films he’s in. Everyone is busy, moving at the speed of life. I guess that’s just it: life moves pretty fast for everyone, and we’re all trying to keep up with each other. I’m not saying that this disconnect is a bad thing. I realize that this is something that everyone goes through when you move away from home. It has to happen. There are just times when I stand back and reflect on how far we’ve come.
Another issue that I’ve been dealing with that adds to the whole “speed of life” thing is that I am now starting to really dig into the world of graduate schools. I’m entering into my senior year at UNCG, and have to start seriously considering what I’m going to do after my undergrad years are over. I have to say…it’s quite overwhelming. Not only do I have to pick which school I want to go to and when I’m going to take the GRE, but looking at different graduate schools is also making me consider again what it is I really want to do with my life. For right now, I want to try and pursue a career in experimental economics. Not sure how that’s going to go, but I’d like to give it a try. So I’ve been looking around for graduate programs with courses in econometrics and mathematics that will apply to the field of economics. There are a lot out there, and they all have their selling points. It’s another one of those times in life where you have multiple paths in front of you and you have to just choose one and hope that it turns out for the best. Of course, it’s not like I’m signing myself into a contract, but I would really like to make sure that my first choice is the best choice. Maybe I shouldn’t be so focused on that. Not sure.
I’m also going to start looking into the job market soon and see what exactly is out there for a student fresh out of undergrad school with a degree in economics. It might turn out that I’ll spend some time in the work force before I go to graduate school…but with this economy I’m not too sure. A lot of students that I talk to are feeling like they should just stay in school for a while, put off paying their loans, get their master’s degrees, and hopefully the economy will have changed enough to get a decent job. So many options…but I’ve got some time. I’m not totally overwhelmed by all of this stuff. I mean, when I step back and look at the big picture, this is really exciting. I’m moving forward, reaching for the things that I really want. As long as I remember take a step back and see that all of these options and all of these decisions are going to leading me forward, I’ll be ok.
