The State of A College Graduate

I had a good day today. I say this because some days are really awful days. Being a grown up is not as easy as it looks on tv - there isn't always sappy music that plays when a lesson is being learned and Danny Tanner doesn't hug you and tell you that everything is okay. Some days are sad - I work a job that I usually enjoy but sometimes gets me down. I get turned down from parts I desperately want and I miss my friends who live far way from me. But, when all is said and done, I enjoy being out of school. I enjoy making money and paying bills and feeling satisfied when I cook a homemade meal. I enjoy having independence but sometimes I just want to be back at home, blissfully unaware of the troubles of the world around me. (I realize that sounds depressing - keep reading. It gets happier!)

And speaking of troubles of the world, tonight is the State of the Union. (If you think this isn't one of the biggest theatrical events of the year, think again. You should all be watching. I'll be watching on DVR once I fulfill my theatrical duties at rehearsal this evening.) Obama is projected to be full of apologies and tough words about the past year (come onnnnnn mid-first season of The West Wing where the struggling presidency has a major turn around).

However, even if he has some sobering things to say, it doesn't mean that we all have feel glum afterwards. I've been reading a phenomenal book called The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. If you like beautiful language (think Nabokov's descriptions in Lolita) or are just looking for a good read, you should pick up this book. Anyways, this one passage stuck with me. Especially with the impending speech these words particularly resonated with me...

"At times like this you desperately need Art. You seek to reconnect with spiritual illusions, and you wish fervently that something might rescue you from your biological destiny, so that all poetry and grandeur will not be cast out from the world."

Don't let poetry and grandeur leave your world, even if what Obama has to say tonight resonates with you. I know I've had a year full of ups and downs between graduation and finding a job and learning that sometimes it takes months in order to qualify for something as simple as health insurance. Even though there are bad days, we have to remember the things that we love in life. I love my family. I love my friends. I love my career path. I love chocolate and wine and the warm weather we've been having lately. And I love knowing that I've just started on my path to adulthood, my path to the rest of my life. What do you love? Remember those things this evening as you watch. Even if times seem tough, we'll all emerge on the other side all the better for it.