What It Takes

I have been in graduate school for four years.

I have no idea what it takes to succeed at being a graduate student. I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing. I have no idea what I am supposed to be learning. I have no idea what I will be doing in the future. I have no idea of what it takes.

I have a bunch of clues. But they do not fit together. Do we strive to get good grades? Do we strive to do publishable research? Do we strive to finish for finishing's sake?

When I was playing football winning was the goal. When I was in the video or the grocery store profits were the goal. Of course there were gray areas. Of course achieving the objective was difficult and somewhat complex. But at the end of the day I came away with a better understanding of what it takes.

It is the end of the day, and I still have no better idea of what it takes then when I came here four years ago.