spring ahead

I can hardly believe that it's March already! But sure enough, mid-terms are upon me, the vibrant colors are spring are sprouting up all around, and warmer weather has arrived.

For whatever reason this semester has been more of a challenge for me than last. (I mostly blame the pol sci class.) 'Tis certainly a challenge I can meet, but it has required a substantial investment of my time and mental energy, leaving me little time for idle blogging, or cooking, or doing much of anything at all at my own pace. And I don't mean to complain, because I'm making much progress in my pursuit of knowledge. Although much of my progress has been intangible thus far, my mind is nevertheless steadily absorbing a more detailed, nuanced understanding of the world around me, which is always a good thing.

And truly, being super-busy is a welcome distraction from fretting about my future, because through all of this, the Grad-School-Admissions-Decision Waiting Game continues. I've been rejected by three of my chosen schools, albeit the three most selective. I've been accepted to Tulane Law School, but I've not yet received a response from the History Department to know fully what my options are. Nevertheless, this news has been of great comfort to my confidence, which had been mightily bruised by the slew of rejections.

So I continue to wait, cultivating the virtue of patience all the while, knowing not where I might fund myself this autumn, or what I might be doing...

Also in the way of encouraging developments: I'm in talks with my pol sci professor (who happens to be the chair of the department) about doing some assistantship work for him. I believe that I could provide some invaluable organizational assistance to such a busy academic as Professor Orey -- what with my 6+ years of experience keeping busy attorneys organized -- even while adding a sparkling new category to my curriculum vitae. As with much else, only time will tell what might come of this...

Meanwhile, after months of mulling around possible topics, I've reached the point of beginning a new research paper in earnest. (More on that later, in a new post.)

Something I've been telling myself lately is that I should endeavor to blog more; to use these pages as a utility to help me think complex concepts though, to catalog my many ideas and interests, and to help me expand my vocabulary. As Dr. Davis once told me, writing is a performance art, and for that reason blogging can do me naught but good as an aspiring writer.

But I won't fret too much about not having made the time lately to devote to blogging, for I can (and likely will) always aspire to do better. Overall I'm doing quite well with the balancing act of work, home, and school, and I simply must come to terms with my tendency to want to over-achieve. I must remind myself that, at the end of the day, my best will almost always be good enough.