Today marks the 25th anniversary of my birth, and even though this particular day isn't especially extraordinary I figured that I should at least write a few thoughts about hitting the quarter century mark.
As regular readers know, I've been a bit frustrated with my academic career up to this point; I feel like I'm straining at the leash to get out and get to work, and my university hasn't made it especially easy for me. Still, as embarrassing as it might be to still be completing my undergraduate work, I have benefited from taking the "scenic route" and now have a better idea of what I want to do when I eventually break free from my current course of study. Given my unusual collegiate career I can't judge myself by what everyone else is doing, and I feel that because of what I've been doing on my own I'll be in a much better position to start graduate-level work than I would have been at 22 when I only had vague ideas of what I wanted to do when I got my degree. This next year is going to be a difficult one, but by this time next year I should be writing happier things about getting ready to start my graduate education.
Speaking of things being deferred, I had set myself the goal of completing the first draft of my book by today, and that hasn't happened. I wish I had fulfilled that promise to myself, but then again it's only been recently that I have come up with a title/organizing principle that makes sense of what I'm trying to write. I'm going to call it Archetypes and Ancestors, which was inspired by a short passage in Stephen Jay Gould's The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. (D'oh! Michael has informed me that Adrian Desmond already wrote a book with that title. Back to the drawing board for me, I guess...) Further, I've recently received some encouragement to complete the project, and even though it's still a little slow going (I really only have the time to sit down and write on weekends) I have a much better idea of what I want to say and where the book is going. This past Sunday, for instance, I hammered out a section that involves Albert Koch's Missourium & Hydrarchos, how Basilosaurus became Zeuglodon and back again, and Darwin's thought experiment about insect eating bears sculling around in a pond. I've still got a lot of work to do, but I feel much more motivated and that I have a firmer goal in mind than I had earlier.
Rather than focusing on what I haven't done, though, I must admit that I get a little vertigo when I look back at what I've accomplished as far as blogging/science writing this past year. This time last year I was still struggling to find my voice, and I never thought that a year later I would be on ScienceBlogs. Still, here I am, and I truly appreciate the support I've received from readers and other bloggers.
I don't want to ramble on for too long, but I consider this blog to be the most valuable thing that I have going for me at the moment, and I'm thankful to everyone who has helped make Laelaps what it is now. Yes, finishing my undergraduate work and moving on to graduate school is certainly important, but I have benefited the most from the work I've put into this blog, and I hope that the coming year will be even more productive than the last.
Thank you to all of you who have wished me a happy birthday;
Marek from Triolbite Clothing
John
Kevin Z
Jennifer
Greg
Amanda
Bora
Michael
Marcus, Ellen, Lynne, & Keith
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25 is the best time evah! I came to the US at 25, found my future wife, had great fun riding horses, exploring America and reading S.J.Gould at the time.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday Brian :) Your blog is a lot of fun-- Keep it up!
Twenty-five was a very good year for me and I hope it will be for you as well!
I simply cannot wait to read your book. Given what I've read here on your blog, I can only imagine how wonderful the book is going to be. I wish you luck in finishing that first draft and in getting it published. (Oh, and if you're looking for someone to read through that draft, I'm a pretty fast reader. Just sayin')
Here's hoping the next year is everything you hope it will be and more! Happy Birthday!
(P.S. Um, does your wife read your blog? Because if she does, you might want to revise that statement about the blog being the most valuable thing you have going for you right now. Drives me nuts whenever my husband says something like that. Hello, what am I--chopped liver???)
Happy birthday Brian!
Happy Birthday again! I like 25. It's okay. I'm about halfway through it and nothing too tragic has happened (melting, implosion, etc.)
Happy birthday, Brian! Let me know if there are any festivities happening this week or weekend!
Happy Birthday Brian!
Happy day! And 25--the best is yet to come. Seriously!
Happy Birthday!!
Don't worry too much about where you think you should be. I'm almost twice your age and I admire what you're doing. This blog serves an important purpose of making the science interesting and understandable for us laypeople. You've already accomplished a lot.
Hmmm, you need a book title, you say? Archetypes and Ancestors is taken? How about. . . The Archetype's Tale? Catchy, but sounds oddly familiar. :-)
Happy birthday.
Quarter century too, eh? Well done, brother, and happy birthday. Now you can rent a car, and you get a break on your auto insurance!
Happy Birthday from a veritable fossil (I'm 50). Keep up the studies and the blog, and good luck with the book.
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"(I really only have the time to sit down and right on weekends)"
Well ...you could be using the weekends to do all the wrong things ...which would not be too productive, I guess.
Happy birthday indeed.
...tom...
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You're still snapping that whip but happy B-day!
Happy 25th Hatching Day!
I wouldn't worry too much about the late undergraduate graduating... Craig didn't get his first degree till he was 26, and he still had no clue what he wanted to do, so he just started another UNDERgrad!!!
At least you have a clear path and understanding of who you are and what you want to do in life... Isn't that what getting educated is about?...
Oh I've just been handed a note from the University Association, one moment please... oops um it seems I'm mistaken...that is NOT the point of education.... It's about giving registrars money :(
Happy birthday Brian!
I know I'm a few days late, but happy birthday all the same. And don't feel bad, I'll have turned 24 before I finish my bachelor's degree this summer. I'll be 25 before I make it into a graduate program (due to unfortunate mitigating factors, I missed all the deadlines to enroll next fall).
There's no shame in being late to the game, as long as you make an awesome entrance. Having a few extra years under your belt will just make you that much more focused and prepared when you jump into the oh-so-lovely world of graduate school.