Continuation

How do you frame your life? Or rather, what is your time frame? Is it defined by the work week . . . by vacations . . . by when the next bill is due . . . by social events . . .? The past two decades of my life have been defined by school - summer break, graduation, fall or spring semesters, internships - and now 17 years later its done. The question then becomes what do you do when your frame of reference has changed?
If you're expecting an answer, I don't really have one. Not yet anyways, and even if I did I suspect that my answer will be different from yours.

A graduate, that is a title that invokes a range of emotions for me. Its not that I am aghast about the responsibilities I now have - work, supporting myself, the gaping black hole called loans. I admit, however to being a bit apprehensive, but who wouldn't be.  Rather, I feel there is a vast canvas in front of me. The background has been painted and I have tools to continue , that was the purpose of my education after all, but the question is where to go on from here. What is the next stroke of the brush?

As a side note, I am aware of how blessed I am to not only have the tools to paint but also the optimism and hope for the continuation of the piece. The ability to dream and belief in a better tomorrow should be cherished by those who hold it. For unfortunately many do not have these hopes. They were not granted the opportunity to dream and to believe that they can. Recall Thomas the Little engine "I think I can, I think I can", well it is hard to say that when others are shouting "No you can't, no you can't".  Oppression, poverty, bullying, and so many other things in life push people down so deep that they can not lift their heads to see the stars for their world is full of dirt. I say this, reader, not to depress you or be named a pessimist. Rather, I write it to remind myself to cherish the optimism I have and to share it with others. To encourage others to dream, that is one of my hopes in life. To remind people to look up and see there is more than the ground in this world, that canvases can be painted over, and artwork is often messy. I encourage others to dream by being a dreamer myself.

So how will I now frame my life? What is the next stroke on my canvas? What new dreams will I have today?