Mississippi #2

Dearest Deary Dears,

Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Spending time with my family in Louisiana was great as usual. My brothers are growing at an alarming rate and eating like teenagers. The picture above was taken in Mississippi at a Children’s Museum just off the coast. The Lyn Meadows Museum, to be more precise. It was absolutely amazing; I had just as much fun as my little brothers at some of the stations. We also took the annual Rice Christmas Photo, which this year consisted of an 18th century psuedo-aristocratic portrait-certainly not to be missed. Not to worry, it will be posted of course.

As usual, during my trips home, I was forced to consider my future by the old parental units. This is perhaps something most students can relate to. For some reason, our parents simply aren’t content to let us stay in college forever, as appealing as it sometimes sounds. I mean geez, what is so bad about a life of idle academic endeavors? Parents, as anxious as they sometimes can be, are a necessary impetus, and only want the best for us, so ultimately I am thankful for it.

There seems to be a great gulf of disparity between the different futures I can choose from...

The first option would be finish college, join the Army as an officer, get contracted for two years to some remote location working in intelligence. This would offer many benefits if I ever wanted to join the CIA/FBI as well as offer me a chance to see the world and enjoy the lifelong benefits of being a US Army Officer. There is undeniably something honorable and worthy about such a task.

The second option would be finish college, begin work on my Masters Degree, and hopefully find a college offering sponsorship involving PhD work. This would probably be the most time consuming as well costly, and I’m not quiet sure how great my chances are of being selected. (This is the only time I will admit weakness!)

The third option is Peace Corps. I believe my odds are pretty good since I have a great deal of medical experience through the Army. There are also Masters Programs that can be completed in conjunction with your 2 years abroad, which would be like killing two birds with one stone.

The fourth option is to spend a year backpacking/living/teaching English in Europe. This is obviously the most lofty, which only adds to its appeal in some strange way.

The one commonality these four options share is that they are all a great departure from finishing college and getting a job. That is the last thing I want to or will do, assuming things remain as they are now. I am just not cut out for that type of life right now, and would most likely fail at it. I suppose time will tell, but if anyone has any suggestions please feel free. I feel that I must do something strong and worthy of the time and resources that have been invested into myself. There is a definite desire to achieve something great and break away from the typical life that would be so easy to lead after college. It’s not pressure however. It is an indelible feeling of excitement.

There is also this feeling that I'm spending my time now getting ready for one of these futures. By that I mean, I feel like I am more preparing for life rather than living it. I feel like I can do so much more than just attend college and work on my BA, and what I'm doing now is mere preparation. This is not the right way to go about life. It reminds me of a great Dave lyric:

Isn't it strange
How we move our lives for another day
Like skipping a beat

I can’t say for sure which of these shores the currents seem to be taking me towards. For now, I remain treading water. Will I sink or swim? The best thing to do for now is worry about finals week coming up and do the best I can at the task at hand. What more can be expected?

As for now, I’m off to my step moms birthday party, which should be mean cake, and when I see cake and ice cream I care very little about the future, and rather focus on the task at hand, which is eating as much of it as possible.

Until next time, I remain, treading water,
MW Rice

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-Emerson