9 months until I am reborn...

Catchy title huh? I'll explain soon... just read.

I hope to be graduating in a little over 9 months. Yes you read correctly... 9 MONTHS. after 3 and 1/2 years in school... my time can be counted in months instead of semesters or years.

no more classes
no more books
no more teachers dirty looks...

Over in December. Then into the real world...

Ok so that last part scares me a little bit. In December I become a viable member of the working community. Bills, rent, 9-5, all that good stuff. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited and definitely ready... but a little apprehensive. It's going to be weird getting up in the morning and not going to class. I'll be waking up and going to work. I won't be doing homework... I'll be doing REAL WORK.

I've had plenty of real jobs mind you... but not one that was my career. I don't even know where I will be working. It could be in any big city in Texas (I hope), perhaps OKC or Tulsa. I'd rather not stay in Oklahoma, but if the money and opportunity are right... then who am I to walk away from it? Maybe when I'm further along in my career and have the freedom to make that choice I will, but as of right now, I'll take what I can get.

So I'm ready to move on and get started with my career... just maybe a little freaked out.

Let me digress a moment for those who may be a little confused. I am a Journalism Major. I love writing. After trying 2 other majors, I found one I truly enjoy. It gives me chances to do things I never imagined of doing, and lets me use my creativity to its maximum.

In 2 months Ive accomplished:
3 movie reviews
1 major feature article
helping design, situate, update, and launch the Baconian Online, the online newspaper at my college... the first time that has ever happened at Bacone.

I hope to add more to that list before March ends.

Anyways back to the point...

With Journalism, after this semester I only have 7 hours of classes required to graduate. I will still have to take 12 hours next semester but I will only need those 7 hours of my major to get my degree. With the Education major I was pursuing before switching.. I would have graduated in a year and a half. Yes, I would have been 25 when I graduated.... no thanks.

While the Journalism degree is only an Associates Degree, I will pursue further degrees after I get some time in the field. I eventually want to get my masters, but I'm extremely sick of being in school, and want to get out in the real world and get to work.

The thought of writing and having hundreds or thousands... maybe millions reading it... is awesome. I want people to read my work and be informed... be moved... and not just toss it away. I know I'm writing everyday news, but I want to write it in a way that captures my audience. It's the best feeling when someone comes up to you and tells you that you did a great job on a story. To take something ordinary and make it extraordinary is my goal.

Everyone has a passion that drives them, and being a writer has become mine. I want to eventually write books and novels. I hope to accomplish that with the experience I garner as a journalist.

One of the things I will miss about being in school, is that it ends my athletic career. While it's been a great run... some years better than others... you have to know when the time has come to move on from those dreams. Could there be a possible future in sports for me? Maybe, but I'm not sure if my body can handle it. I love football and track but neither will get me through life. Neither will pay my bills or make me happy.

While both have always brought me great joy, they have been a constant cause of frustration and stress as of late. The well has run dry for me in this aspect of life, and it is time to move to greener pastures where my future lies.

I've got one season of football left, God willing, and when that season is over, I stop being a student athlete, and become a working man. I've suffered much physically and mentally to chase my dreams and I thank God for every second of football and track I've ever had.

Now it's time to chase the new dream. Being a writer for a paper or a magazine, and maybe one day writing books. In 9 months that dream will be born... and I CAN"T WAIT!