I considered writing a "Year in Review" post, but that seems too broad. Thus I am writing a more concise "Vacation in Review" post that will focus primarily on my vacation.
As exams finally came to a close I immediately left Providence and headed home to Connecticut. My initial night home involved a night out with the illustrious Derek as well as bumping into his brother and collection of ladies and other Hartford ex patriates returning home for the holiday.
In a break from family tradition we spent the actual holiday in Connecticut as the result of some extended family health problem type things (which we need not rehash here). Things went well and we then headed up to Vermont where I spent most of the rest of the time off save for a night or two in Boston near the end.
I read a phenomenal book, Sophie's Choice, which I started essentially by accident- I was too cheap to buy a book so I took one of the ones my brother read in high school that I had not. It was a great book, which I cannot do justice to at the moment, but I recommend it to anyone.
Nothing exciting really happened for New Year's Eve because among other things I could not find a place to stay in Boston, but also I feel N.Y.E. is just amateur night and I was not all that motivated to leave the tranquility of Vermont just to stand in a bar with drunken idiots or sleep in my car, etc.
17 days off is actually the longest vacation I have had in probably a year, although it feels odd to think that. My most important realizations over vacation were essentially the re- realization of some thoughts about life I have had before, but had lost sight at some high water mark of the last semester/year. Most importantly, as arrogant as it may sound, that I will be fine regardless of my performance in school or abstract "career." This sense of security does not really derive from any independant source of wealth, connections, or an oil well I found in our backyard, but rather a realization that I am a simple person who does not require a tremendous amount to attain happiness- which after all seems the only reasonable goal to shoot for in this life time. I am not sure of an exact list of requirements, but a roof over my head, friends, family, health, and the activities I love like skiing, going to the beach, etc.
As I headed back to school today someone was asking me whether I was anxious to get back and I replied that truthfully I was not anxious nor was I dreading it. The truth of the matter is that I would likely be quite bored if I was facing some sort of challenge in my life. At the same time, what I think seperates me and the students like me, from those students consumed by law school- is that I have no desire for it to consume me. Certainly it is a significant part of my life, but I honestly as equally interested in history, art, food, relationships, culture,...the list goes on.
So- for the time being, back to school. I plan to write more about specific moments of the vacation soon so stay tuned.
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