So, first week's over. We've got our new crop o' frosh, and it looks like a really good one. :) I got into all the classes I wanted, and I really like all of them so far. And I even made it into orchestra *again*. Four years as principal flute, hooray!

To those of you who were certain I'd make orchestra again, thanks very much for your confidence. One of my bad tendencies is to underestimate myself, and so often I'm riddled with doubt over the silliest things... I'm trying to fix that, one step at a time.

Even after 21 years, I'm still a work in progress. That'd certainly be a shock to the 10-year-old Kirsten, who thought that her older counterpart would have *everything* figured out by know. Different aspects of my character are still in flux, and I'm still not sure what to do with my life. I want to do something meaningful and play to my strengths, but one year away from graduation, I'm still not certain what to pursue. At this point, I'm sticking to history - I've been the happiest I've ever been while in this major. And I think I'd make a decent history professor - I can do this well, and I enjoy the work that goes into it. I'm happy when I'm working with languages, or trying to get into another frame of mind and understand a radically different mindset and culture, or communicate what I've learned and extend that understanding to others.

I just can't stop thinking about what else I should/could be doing with my life, that could be more meaningful or dear to me. I don't want to waste my time, and 20 years down the line discover that I was never truly happy with what I was doing. The more I think about it, the more I realize how important it is to not take the present for granted... there may be another 50 years ahead, or only a few hours. I don't ever want to regret the time I spent on something.

So. Carpe diem, friends. There was a pretty good quote along these lines by Seal yesterday in the LA Times - take a look at that article, it's towards the end. I'll try to find it later if the Times hasn't been burnt yet.