One Year Later

I had forgotten about this.  Well, no, that's a lie - I had remembered, every month or two.  And I had promised myself, time and time again, that I would write here soon.  Part of me wanted just to keep those people in my life updated.  But then, when I finally logged back in and read those entries - with their anger and joy and pity and inspiration - I realized something.  Maybe we need a record of those difficult times in our lives, just to see where we've been and where we're going.  And maybe this is mine.

So hi - to everyone and to my future self.  It's been a year.  In the life I plan to lead - one that is so long and full of experiences, both wonderful and terrible - a year is but a blip.  But I'm thinking this blip may have been a fairly important one, with its changes and realizations.  So here's what has happened in the past 365 days:

1.)  I'm in graduate school.  Again.  This past september, I officially started at Drexel University, working toward my M.S. in mechanical engineering, specializing in manufacturing and design.  And I'm in love with it.  Philadelphia is a phenomenal city (in need of a thorough cleaning, no doubt), but the city skyline has become a mere backdrop to what comes out of my professors' mouths.  The way they have been able to so easily draw me in, with knowledge so practical and interesting, is nothing short of extraordinary.  There have been several lectures where my first thought upon leaving the classroom was to get to the library so I could find out more.  To find someone to talk to about everything I had just heard.  I like that feeling.

Have I become the perfect student?  I wish.  Unfortunately, I'm still prone to my fits of procrastination and general laziness.  But this time around, things have been different.  My grades are fantastic (knock on wood) and - barring a few hiccups - the way I approach my reading and work has transformed for the better.  I feel like I'm actually getting what I'm paying for.  That is, a solid education.

2.)  I'm working full-time.  Is it engineering?  Well, no - far from it, actually.  Last August, I started my position as a title searcher for a title insurance company in Wilmington.  The job is what I needed, though.  The benefits, the schedule, the people - they have afforded me the opportunity to go to graduate school and still pay my bills.  And I'm thankful for that.

3.)  As of last September (notice how this all seemed to happen at the same time?), I moved into my own place in Philadelphia.  It's a teeny-tiny studio apartment with all the essentials, and I could not be happier with the space (minus a certain landlord..ehem) and the location.  On bright, warm weekend days, one of my favorite things to do is to walk into Center City, pick up my fruits and veggies for the week at Reading Terminal, snag a warm cookie, and walk back.  My only regret is that I have *barely* explored the city and all it has to offer.  With work and school, sometimes just scheduling time for sleep has been a problem.  But the more I learn about time management, the more I crave a fun, spontaneous day in the city, filled with good food and lots of walking.  And perhaps this quarter I'll make that happen.

So there you have it.  One year later, and it seems like I'm practically living a different life.  And a year later from today, hopefully I can look at this post and wonder, yet again, at the changes that have occurred.

This time, though, I'll try to post a bit more often before that happens.  Because there's more to a year than just a single blog post, right?

Right.  There are at least *two* blog posts in a year.