Thoughts on Post-Lehigh Life

Well, it's still hard to believe, but in about a week, I'll graduate for a second time and leave Lehigh behind forever. ... That's not exactly true; I hope to visit Lehigh each year for the foreseeable future for EPiC (Lehigh's annual gaming convention). Nonetheless, there's no question that I'll be going through an enormous transition over the next few months: the end of college life and the beginning of professional life.

The company that hired me has been annoyingly sparse on details, such as where I need to move, when my exact start date is, etc. I know that I'll be in the DC area and that I'm supposed to start some time in August, but every time I've asked for more specifics, I've been politely rebuffed but assured that they're coming. So far, no luck, and I'd really like to start looking for an apartment in June. But if I pester them enough, maybe escalate to calling them instead of e-mailing them, I should be able to get some real information.

I'm anxious about all the work involved in moving: finding a place, packing up everything I'll want to take (all the things I had at Lehigh and then some), maybe finding a roommate, etc. And then, I have to get familiar with the area, taking note of places to eat, figuring out how the commute to work will be, seeing what there is to do on the weekends (that part'll be fun). Over the summer, I might need to start preparing for independent life by learning how to cook something besides pasta. Really, with a recipe book and the proper ingredients, I can cook; it'll just take practice and the motivation to actually make a meal instead of taking the easier, quicker path of frozen, pre-made meals. A roommate will help with that, because he could share the burden of cooking, help decide on what meals to make, etc.

Something else I hope to do over the summer to smooth the transition is brush up on my programming skills. I don't know what language will be in heavy use at my job, but as much as I like C at this point, I should probably go back to Java, because it's favored by many in the industry for its quick prototyping, extensive API, and general programming-friendliness. The best way to refresh my Java skills would be to actually work on a Java project or revise a previous Java project I've done, so that's something I plan on starting in June.

But before any of that, I still have graduation in a week. I'm at home, and graduation's far enough away that the finality of it hasn't hit me yet. Maybe it never will? I've gotten a little too accustomed to making transitions, so perhaps graduation won't be emotional at all. I kind of hope it is, because it'll mean that I'm still capable of being emotional. In recent years, the closest I've come to tearing up is from certain movies I've seen, and that just doesn't seem right some how. Ever since I had the problem with my eye where I couldn't stop producing tears (February last year), I haven't produced any tears, although I've come close every now and then. Other than movies, tragic news stories sometimes get me on the precipice but never over the edge. I guess I've never been the sort of person to cry easily or regularly, and I'm ok with that. But in my time at Lehigh, I've gone through some experiences that I think are worth crying about but that, for whatever reason, did not result in tears. We'll have to wait and see if graduation changes that. I don't know why this bothers me, but it does.

And how does my time at Lehigh look, now that it's about to come to an end? Well, I won't even attempt to sum up my Lehigh experience in this post, but despite the rocky start and a bunch of things I would change about Lehigh if I had the power, I think I've once again been exceptionally lucky and blessed. My friends have been fantastic; activities like improv changed how I'll go about my life; my academic life was productive and resulted in a computer science senior project (a Wiki page that, for the moment, is still at http://www.thedouglyuckling.net/roguewiki/Main_Page) and an international relations honors thesis (a document that I'll share on demand, just ask if you want to read about hackers and cyberwarfare); my social skills improved immeasurably; and the memories are overwhelmingly positive.

But ultimately, the institution had very little to do with how I came out of it. Sure, Lehigh's professors and facilities were crucial parts of my experience, but it was all the people at the institution (including the professors) and who I met through Lehigh who deserve the lion's share of the credit for what Lehigh has given me. I suspect that other schools would have worked equally well, but Lehigh gets my thanks for letting me meet the people I did, people I probably would not have encountered anywhere else (although who knows what great people I could have met somewhere else?). In today's age of social networking, cell phones, and IM, I hope to stay in touch with as many of those people (some of which may be you!) as possible, but inevitably, some connections will be lost, and I regret those loses in advance. But I've found that those connections can be reestablished fairly easily and suddenly, and I look forward to all the exciting and unexpected ways that will happen.

That's all I've got for now. Surely, I'll have more to say about graduation. Until then, take care.