September Arrives

For the first time in my life, I will not be going back to school at the end of the summer. My parents asked me if it felt weird. As of yet, no, it feels perfectly natural going to work every morning and come home every evening. Perhaps it’s too early to judge how I will feel, but I’ll say this: I’m feeling fine.

I won’t have to return to the world of academia, with its self-imposed sense of importance, lack of real world relevance, and absurd idealism. I can finally interact with other people in a real way. I’m not saying I hate school. I’ll probably start on a graduate degree sometime soon. It’s just that after 16+ years of education, every little bugaboo about its culture has turned into frustration. They become all you focus on. I’m sure the “real world” will be the same way after some time, but I’m hopeful that its downfalls will cause less friction with my personality.

Gone are the all night homework sessions. I can show up at 8, leave at 5, and not think about work again until I show up at 8 the next morning. It’s truly liberating to do something on the weekend without some kind of assignment (or senior thesis) hanging over your head.