Where are you headed?

Since several of us can't figure out which direction Richee was trying to go with his recent post "Quo Vadis Domine?", I decided to start a new thread with my ideas on where his was going.

I found a website that defined "Quo Vadis Domine" as where are you going, Lord? Thus, to me it seems like Richee could have been asking us in which direction do you see yourself headed and what do you want to do with your life.

So, I'll take the plunge and be the first to answer that one.

I honestly had no clue what I wanted to do with myself in college. I just knew that college is where I was supposed to be. So, I chose a major that I really liked (math), but didn't really know what I could do with that. I still didn't know in my senior year and was getting kinda antsy since the only jobs math majors from my liberal arts school seemed to be getting were either high school teachers (bluck!) or an actuary. Now, an actuary is someone that estimates when a person is going to die for a life insurance company. While this job pays well, it seemed very dead-end and boring to me as it's the same thing day in, day out. So, I opted for grad school. They'd pay me to go there, and I could put off that real world job decision for another several years. Thus, the choice was made for statistics since I knew I would have many options when I finished.

All throughtout grad. school, the one thing I knew was that I didn't want to teach. I wanted a job in industry when I was not, certainly not academia. Well, six years later, what did I wind up with? A post-doc. Why? Because I was too lazy to really apply myself for many other positions. I had some interviews with companies, but they just didn't mesh well with me. I also had made a really great group of friends where I was living and didn't want to give them up. They are very special and important people in my life and have become my family. Thus, when the opportunity for the post-doc appeared, it seemed like the best solution for me. But, that also meant I was going into academia which is something I always dreaded.

After being here for 2 1/2 years and now being a faculty member, though, I really enjoy it. The good thing is that I don't teach on a regular basis, but I have the opportunity to when I want. I can do research and get to interact with really wonderful doctors that are doing very interesting medical research on all things from childhood diseases to cancers to HIV to drug additions. Each day brings something different along. So, even though this was not my chosen career path, it is one I do enjoy and am very happy that this is where I wound up.

As far as my personal life, well, it's had many ups and downs along the way as well. What I have learned is that friends are absolutely wonderful people. Making others smile is fabulous. And spite is a very bad and bitter emotion. I've learned that instead of being negative and hurt to try to learn something from the experience and grow as a person. I've also learned not to hide stuff from people and that honestly is a wonderful policy. If you just be yourself (your tru self and not someone you thing others will like), you will be happier for it and people will see you radiating. Not everyone in this world is meant to like everyone else, and that is just fine. Someone out there will understand and love you for who you are so just try to learn from your mistakes and take each day with a grain of salt.

I'm 30, still single, but very happy and fulfilled with my life. Where would I like to see myself going? I'd like to do something more with my job and get more involved in one particular area of research. Which one, I have yet to decide, but I am working on it. As far as personally, I'm at a very happy place right now, but I am trying to work on my interactions with others and being more complimentary of people.

So, now that I have somehow turned this into a rather long post (that hopefully some people will read smile

), where would you like to be with yourself in the future and what do you have to overcome to get there?

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