The Purpose

“Just about a month from now I’m set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars.”~Richard Halliburton

Inspiration for this blog was borne out of equal parts boredom and nostalgia. If you could not tell from the quote above, I am a college student in the midst of his final month and a half of his final semester (a month=30 days, half month =15, 30+15=Forty5). My school of choice is Towson University, located just north of Baltimore. My studies are in ‘Journalism and New Media’ (what is new media? you’re looking at it). And my time at TU has been truly outstanding.

At some point in the last week–between trying to figure out where I will live six months from now and whether American Gladiator reruns conjure fond memories or spoil what seemed like the perfect show when I was a kid–I came up with this idea of taking one picture every day until graduation (May 24, 2 p.m. ET) and posting them on Facebook. I figured it would be meaningful enough to overshadow what little effort it would take. So I committed to the idea.

I couldn’t just start out of the blue. There was very little allure to the last ‘53 days’ of a student’s life, and I did not want to wait for the 30-day countdown. So I decided I’d meet in the middle (more or less) at 45 (and yes, ‘45 days’ has way more allure to it than any other random number…lets not get hung up on the details).

So, starting with a picture taken April 10, I will post one picture each day that somehow encapsulates what that day represented. Where I spent the majority of my time. What my mental and physical energy was devoted to. What made that particular 24-hour period unique from any other. With the monotonous, going-through-the-motions life of a college student (and even more so that of a second-semester senior) this sort of thing could get really repetitive really fast. There’s the challenge.

What do I want this to end up being? At least slightly visually appealing (I own a digital camera, but am certainly not a photographer), and a worthwhile daily read for anyone with five minutes to burn.

What don’t I want this to end up being? Overly sensationalistic. An attempt at being deep in the waning days of one of life’s greatest chapters (see, there I go). Boring. Crap. Etc.

As I thought out the idea and my first entry my biggest fear was that it would become something more solemn than it needed to be (airing on the don’t side). The fact is I am a kid who has thoroughly enjoyed the last four years of his life and would like to make the most of these next six weeks. This is part of that. To document a time of great uncertainty, but far greater potential. The terrifying part of it all is that when I don my cap and gown and this blog is finished I may very well have no idea where my life will take me. The exciting part of it all is that when I don my cap and gown and this blog is finished I may very well have no idea where my life will take me.

How can you not enjoy this?

I might as well. After all, I only have 45 days left to.