Crossroads
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
The opening stanza of Robert Frost’s 1915 poem “The Road Not Taken” aptly sums up how I feel, faced with paths, all of which represent potential futures that I can see my life to taking on. And while Frost’s poem ends with an assertion of individualism, choosing the “one less traveled by”, that path is not right in every situation.
I think it is finally time in my life to choose a career. Although I joked that if I could, I would be a student for the rest of my life, with each passing semester I have become more and more disenchanted with a life solely comprised of academic pursuits. A lifelong goal of mine, ever since I was a child, was to get my Ph.D. But it would be ridiculous to waste all that time chasing a childhood fantasy if I do not want the end result. But for some reason, I can’t convince myself that it is only a childhood fantasy; nevertheless, the sparkle that future held in my eyes is fast fading.
I think this would have been a much easier decision if it were not for the economic turmoil, the (pending?) recession. Company layoffs and bank failures litter the already bleak headlines of todays newspapers as if their reports on war, crime, and celebrity weren’t depressing enough. It makes another four or five years of study look like a vacation.
But I am ready for a change. I have started the year by accepting who I am and would like to continue with this positive momentum and plunge head first into unfamiliar territory – the real world. I’m tired of being a poor student and I don’t think I have the drive anymore to make a career out of being a research professor. Whilst I don’t know exactly what I want to do (but then again, does anyone really know?), I want to find that out. I think a few wrong choices and rejections are well worst the risk. So… anyone looking to hire?
Michael Petnuch is a graduate math student who enjoys walking on his hands, drinking diet coke, solving math problems, and being silly!
