Short Goals List

In November of last year I wrote myself a short goals list to be completed by November of this year:

1) Marry Tonya

2) Help elect Barack Obama

3) Get job*

*Tenure-track position at small liberal arts college preferable.

So here we are in November of 2008, and I've hit 2 out of 3. I have an awesome wife and our nation now has an awesome President-elect. I cried in both instances, and am proud of that fact.

Number three is still up in the air. The job market is, to put it lightly, total crap right now. I have one promising prospect, and that is Spring Hill College in Mobile, Al. In all honesty, it is a dream position for me. Small, jesuit, liberal arts college in a cool town with an amazing educational tradition. I would get to continue my training blend of social psychology and gerontology, and the college is right across the street from a retirement community where I could continue my research and intervention work. Finally, they have a nursing program with a certificate in gero, so I could fulfill my dream of being on the ground floor of educating medical professionals who dominate patient contact time with older adults.

For points 1 and 2 on the list, I had a 90 / 10 mix of confidence to nervousness. Confidence of the sort that tells you "this is right, this is true, this is awesome." Confidence of the sort that speaks to you from your core, like it has been sleeping there for your whole life and just woke up. The 10% nervousness should be familiar to anyone who has ever wanted something so great. That tiny voice asks, "Can this actually happen to me? Do I deserve this?" And then it happens, and you cry. Partially for the confirmation of the 90%, and partially for the death of that 10%.

I am struggling to find the mix for point #3, my dream job. This time the nervous component is higher, I think. But that has a lot to do with the aspirational aspect of it compared to marriage and a new president: it is a mandate on the last 5 and a half years of work; it is the test by which spending my 20s still in school can be proven worthwhile.

I dreamt of my perfect partner, and I got her. I hoped for a transformational president, and we got him. I want a job where I can help others learn to think critically, live in a community where service is king, and use my energy to improve the lives of older adults. We'll find out about that one soon.

Also, if it helps, you can imagine a little slow strings music to go along with this post, since I just wrote something that could have been the "on screen journal" section of a TV melodrama. You know, whatever facilitates the mood :)

I hope everyone is well!

Peace,
Joe