The future

I'm finally starting to think about the future. I'm sure Cait would have liked me to join her a little more in contemplating what the next step is after I graduate, but I have been letting her do most of the investigation and the planning. One of the reasons is that she simply seems to enjoy it more, especially now that she is done with school, and also because whatever she decides to do to further her education will come after I graduate. But the main reason is Arabic. It's been like a horrible disease, spreading slowly until it takes over my whole life. It actually hasn't been that bad.

Looking back now that I've reached a peak in Arabic (hopefully not the last, but the last for a while), I'm gratified to see how far I've come. Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic has given me all I expected from my college experience. I've been exposed to a wide variety of subjects, such as history, politics, religion and the humanities. One of my classmates called this degree a liberal arts degree, and at first I disagreed with him, but after thinking about it for a while, I tend to agree. And I'm fine with that. I have a strong enough base in a tangible skill, Arabic, that I could go on with it and be fairly successful. In that sense, this degree has opened a lot of doors for me, because it is a difficult skill in high demand, even if I would need more work to get up to the level most employers would want. But I'm not even worried about that. I studied something that was extremely intellectually taxing yet rewarding and then came here and used it in very practical ways to have meaningful experiences. I've grown intellectually and spiritually and emotionally as I have struggled daily with a subject that has never come easy to me. I've been saying lately when people ask me why I study Arabic that I'm studying Arabic to learn Arabic. I'm getting an education. What comes after that will come.

But now it is time to transition. I'm going to spend some time finishing up my education and bulking up my resume, and then Cait will have her turn and then I'll look at more school. Right now, though, I'm just enjoying the view from this peak.