Non-Traditional Semester

One of the first things you learn in Blogging 101 is to avoid talking about yourself excessively.  So far on Joe’s Musings, I have used personal stories to make a larger, more universal point about humanity and how to improve the quality of your life.  Today, I am going to take a risk by breaking this rule of thumb, but only temporarily.  I promise I’ll provide a little insight at the end of this.

This semester has been quite a transition for me.  I am now a student in the business school, taking 15 hours of business courses for the first time.  Within the B-School, I have made a few good friends and for the most part, life is going very well.  I am happy, doing well in school, and very active in a number of student organizations.  All of these new activities are great, but I feel that the past is fading farther and farther away.  I loved my high school days, but now those times are becoming increasingly distant in my rear view mirror.  I’ve come to the realization that it’s tough to create overlap between the traditional stages of life.  The mind has a difficult time accepting that you today is entirely different than you 5 years ago, so it often chooses to block out that person you were in the past and accept the person you are in the present.    

Even though time itself is moving forward at the same pace, life seems to be moving very quickly.  I have two more years left in college, then it’s time to hit the real world and show it what I’m capable of.  My hope is that I do not become so far removed that I cannot help other people with their struggles.  Think about it.  It’s been a decade since I was a fifth grade.  What advice could I possibly offer a fifth grader that would be on his/her level?  When I was in fifth grade, my life was consumed with baseball, Catholicism, and Dragon Ball Z.  Quite honestly, those three things still hold my interest, but I’m also fascinated by so many other things that it’s difficult to realize how narrow my worldview was back then.       

It’s remarkable when I think about how we change over time.  Even something as seemingly inherent as our personalities can be influenced by our environments.  I am an introvert to the highest degree by nature, but I have been forced to socialize and communicate effectively at the University of Kansas.  While change within an individual is inevitable, I am concerned that the past will become just that- a memory.  In my mind, the past should be active in the sense that you draw from it to help you in the present and the future.    

I apologize for the ramble, but these thoughts have been troubling me for awhile.  It’s good to finally get them out.