Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
Acadia National Park, Oct 2009
“What now?”
“What next?”
I’ve had to ask myself those questions more in the past 19 months than I’m pretty sure in the twenty plus years that I’ve been able to speak.
“What now?”
“What next?”
Starting back in August of 2010, I have been on the autobahn of life. From professional growth, to personal growth, to relationship growth…I’ve grown from mistakes, from hardships, from celebrations, to collaborations, to new connections, to advances in learning; the learning has been non-stop. I say the autobahn because it has moved at a pace that I honestly looking back, have no idea how I was able to manage it. Actually, I take that back. I didn’t manage it. I’ve spent more time juggling professional responsibilities than personal ones. The times where I wasn’t juggling or building new professional responsibilities I spent trying to pick up the personal responsibilities I dropped, took for granted, or flat out lost in the mix.
The only reason I’ve survived this ride on the autobahn is because of a co-pilot, navigator, teammate, partner, and an ass-kicker that I’m lucky to have had persevered and stuck with my bad life driving. (In actual driving, I’m good seeing as I drive almost 600 miles a week these days.) This person is of course Rob. Have no doubt that she has thrown me in the back seat, heck sometimes even the trunk due to the frustration of our situation. The fact of the matter is she never left me on the road stranded, even when I tried to practically jump out of the car – she was always there holding the seat belt into place. I’d like to think I know what has kept her around this long, but I think that it will take the rest of my life to figure out.
“What now?”
“What next?”
Well it seems as though many of my favorite bloggers were preparing me for what has to will occur next. From Matt Cheuvront (@mattChevy) saying, “Turn the page. Get started. Choose your own adventure.“, to Sam Davidson (@samdavidson) saying, “Raise the stakes.”, to Seth Godin saying, “…is today yet another day of living out the narrative you’ve been engaged in for years?” all in the past week the message was clear.
“What now?”
“What next?”
Time to choose a new adventure. Time to raise the stakes. Time to stop living a narrative that is not a long term plan. What does all this mean?
Tomorrow Today, starts the beginning of the end of my time at Nichols College. My position will be posted on the typical slew of higher education job boards. An e-mail went out to my students last night to let them know. An e-mail will go out to the faculty and staff to announce the search for the next Director of the Center for Student Involvement. (Interested? Ask me. This is a great place to work and a fantastic opportunity!)
“What now?”
“What next?”
I have some prospects that are exciting but uncertain at the moment as I am in the midst of the search process. Other than those prospects, the rest is unknown. In fact, very little is known aside from the fact that the rest is unknown.
“What now?”
Well I hope the ride on the autobahn slows down and I am able to focus on what I need to to ensure WE are ready for the next page, the next adventure, the next story…wherever that may start.
“What next?”
More writing. More searching. More preparing. More planning. More dreaming. More doing. Lots more driving.
I’m not sure where the next month or two is going to take me. What am I sure of is that I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to push, pull, and kick my ass along the way. I’m also sure that I wouldn’t be where I am without the network of colleagues, supporters, collaborators, family and new friends that have challenged, supported, and coached me throughout…
And that has made all the difference.
– R. Frost. Mountain Interval. 1920.
