Wrangler Dani

Ah, college. When you’re in those dear old halls of higher learning, all that seems to matter is the getting of great grades and getting out. We are assured regularly that as soon as we step out, beyond our campus – with our funny-looking black hat and hard-won diploma in hand – we shall want for nothing. Great jobs will fall from the sky, and employers will be dying to hire such bright and shining new grads, with a gleam in our eyes and the world at our fingertips.

OK.

So maybe nobody ever said exactly that to me, but subconsciously, however much I talked the tough talk of a hard-knock life, I expected something awesome to just kind of… well… happen.

So I packed up my little couch and endless pictures and punching bag and memories, and waved a tearful goodbye to House 9… knowing that as much as it hurt, something great was just around the bend. A year and a half later, I’m still straining to see around the bend, and still hoping against hope for something great.

Today I am stuck in the middle… in-between my heart and my wallet, my dreams and what makes sense, the idea of a career versus being fulfilled in daily life. None of these questions have been answered for me. I have found with certainty what I absolutely do not want to do with my life, (Thank you, LA Times…) but beyond that, I swing strangely between the desire to do something great and memorable, and the simple desire to get off early enough to go kayaking before sunset.

This week I’ll be making a choice about which direction my life goes. I know that I’m being rather dramatic, but I believe that all of our little choices affect the big picture. I also know that He hasn’t led me this far to leave me… and no matter how many other jobs I take, or where this bend leads, I can rest in knowing that, ultimately, I’m not really in charge here.

And once you get past the scary part, that’s actually a comforting thought.