Futures for Sale

As I walked out of my University building today, I was struck by the same feeling I usually am this time of year. I've finished another year of school, and the summer is full of promise. I've had the luxury of experiencing this sensation for the past six years. School is over. Summer is starting. This is MY time.

What I feel as I walk out of my door (on an invariably beautiful sunny day) is a sense of freedom. I'm free of responsibilities and schedules and papers and part-time work that barely covers my drinking habits and car payment. Freedom isn't free though. We pay for this luxury. During undergrad, I paid the better part of $100,000 for this sensation. During Grad school, I paid with two years of disappointment and hostility. All of this to walk out my door in a t-shirt, take a breath, hold it, and smile. Cheap at half the price. Worth every cent.

What I felt today was a bit different though. I won't finish another year of school. This is it. It's also a bit different because I'm on my own now. I won't be spending another summer cleaning pools and jetting down to the shore on weekends. I need to build my business, a customer base, and my bank account. It's still freedom I feel, but now it's freedom to sink or swim. Freedom feels a lot like vulnerability.

Why do we have to experience this but once a year? This feeling of hope and excitement satisfaction and assurance that everything is as it should be. Why can't I walk out of my door tomorrow and feel those exact same things? Maybe I can and I should. Not just once a year, but everyday.

Here's the soundtrack for today Sydney, I'll come runnin