2016 Year in Review
This time a year ago, I was probably writing a year’s reflection on the couch of my home in Clifton. Today, I write on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
It’s funny how a year can change everything. Or how even a single moment or experience or challenge can do the same.
Anymore, I lose sight that I’m still a college student. It sure hasn’t felt like it for the past six months. I now work full time and have very few commitments outside of my job that take up my time. The past year has truly been one of two worlds—my fall semester in Cincinnati, and the past six months in Washington DC.
Without a shadow of a doubt, my co-op at New America in Washington DC has been the single most significant event in my life over the course of the past calendar year. I have been challenged, I have grown, and I have shown myself that life after college will be filled with tremendous experiences and adventures.
I’ve also learned that it will only be that way if I make it.
If I had to choose what the single most important lesson I’ve learned from my time in DC, it wouldn’t be how to succeed within a professional organization. It wouldn’t be any of the technical or theoretical knowledge I’ve gained in my time at New America. It wouldn’t be any of the things I’ve learned about living in a big city, independently and on the schedule of a full-time professional. No, it’d be this:
My life’s limits are only those that I put on myself.
I’ve always wondered how the most successful and fulfilled people who I admire “got to where they are.” I’m constantly amazed at the things these folks have accomplished. I’ve never been one to write down my goals—to be honest, it’s always seemed a bit contrived.
This year, and particularly in the last six months, however, I’ve often been conflicted. Conflicted about my goals for after graduation. Conflicted about what I hope to accomplish during the rest of my undergraduate career. Conflicted about how to spend the hours after I get home from work and am held to no standard by anyone about how I spend my time.
To be sure, I’ve wasted a lot of it. So many hours of so many days I’ve spent accomplishing none of the things I aspire to do in my life.
And that might be the best thing that has happened to me in the six months I’ve been in DC. It’s only taken until now to put my finger on it. I’ve regularly spoken of the benefit I’ve gotten from this experience, in being able to have a taste of what life might be like once I graduate college.
And to be frank, I’ve been unfulfilled. Professionally and personally, alike. I’ve noted the appreciation I now know I’ll have for my time in school when I return in the fall.
But where I’ve grown further is to more fully understand that I am the only steward of my time and experience. That in order to live the life that I want to live, I must be proactive in placing priority on the things I hold dear and that I want to pursue.
While I’m still developing the specifics, look for a few things in the next year from me: more writing, more goals, and more experiences.
I’m often one to get lost in my own mind, and to worry too much about the endless possibilities, leaving myself to suffer to the fates of indecision. No more.
The year ahead is one I plan to begin putting the pen to paper. Doing what I want, and beginning to consciously build myself into the man I want to be in order to live the life I want to live.
Stay tuned.
It’s funny how a year can change everything. Or how even a single moment or experience or challenge can do the same.
Anymore, I lose sight that I’m still a college student. It sure hasn’t felt like it for the past six months. I now work full time and have very few commitments outside of my job that take up my time. The past year has truly been one of two worlds—my fall semester in Cincinnati, and the past six months in Washington DC.
Without a shadow of a doubt, my co-op at New America in Washington DC has been the single most significant event in my life over the course of the past calendar year. I have been challenged, I have grown, and I have shown myself that life after college will be filled with tremendous experiences and adventures.
I’ve also learned that it will only be that way if I make it.
If I had to choose what the single most important lesson I’ve learned from my time in DC, it wouldn’t be how to succeed within a professional organization. It wouldn’t be any of the technical or theoretical knowledge I’ve gained in my time at New America. It wouldn’t be any of the things I’ve learned about living in a big city, independently and on the schedule of a full-time professional. No, it’d be this:
My life’s limits are only those that I put on myself.
I’ve always wondered how the most successful and fulfilled people who I admire “got to where they are.” I’m constantly amazed at the things these folks have accomplished. I’ve never been one to write down my goals—to be honest, it’s always seemed a bit contrived.
This year, and particularly in the last six months, however, I’ve often been conflicted. Conflicted about my goals for after graduation. Conflicted about what I hope to accomplish during the rest of my undergraduate career. Conflicted about how to spend the hours after I get home from work and am held to no standard by anyone about how I spend my time.
To be sure, I’ve wasted a lot of it. So many hours of so many days I’ve spent accomplishing none of the things I aspire to do in my life.
And that might be the best thing that has happened to me in the six months I’ve been in DC. It’s only taken until now to put my finger on it. I’ve regularly spoken of the benefit I’ve gotten from this experience, in being able to have a taste of what life might be like once I graduate college.
And to be frank, I’ve been unfulfilled. Professionally and personally, alike. I’ve noted the appreciation I now know I’ll have for my time in school when I return in the fall.
But where I’ve grown further is to more fully understand that I am the only steward of my time and experience. That in order to live the life that I want to live, I must be proactive in placing priority on the things I hold dear and that I want to pursue.
While I’m still developing the specifics, look for a few things in the next year from me: more writing, more goals, and more experiences.
I’m often one to get lost in my own mind, and to worry too much about the endless possibilities, leaving myself to suffer to the fates of indecision. No more.
The year ahead is one I plan to begin putting the pen to paper. Doing what I want, and beginning to consciously build myself into the man I want to be in order to live the life I want to live.
Stay tuned.