How Quickly We Come So Far

Me at the RMMLA Convention in October

The title above is the same title I gave an entry in my wonder journal this week. After going back to try and find literature that inspired awe in me in my life for another class assignment, I realized that some things I reacted to quite passionately before now just don't even move me an inch. That got me reflecting on my own life path and I realized with a jump of awe and wonder that a year ago at the time of this writing, I had not even yet considered the idea of videogames as art.

That means that within the space of just 12 months, I went from being unsure about what I wanted to do exactly with my life but leaning toward literature professor or maybe ditching English altogether for sociology, to planning my entire career path around a subject I was almost completely unversed in at the time.

The decision alone might be somewhat impressive, but what's really blown me away is how quickly I was able to dive into that decision. Not only did I say I would do something totally different than I had ever planned before, I've written over 20 in-depth blog posts on videogames, presented at a professional conference on the subject, been featured in one of the leading blogs of the field, and published on an online journal. I don't say these things to brag about my accomplishments, but to wonder at how quickly I turned so completely around and dove so deep into this field.

Considering how quickly it all happened, I almost panicked for a second. I've now applied to two different graduate programs to carry on this path I've started down, and considering how quickly I changed from one thing to another in just a year made me wonder if I'd totally change my mind again in another year's time. For a second, I wondered if I even liked videogames that much, to dedicate potentially my entire professional life to them. It was pretty easy to reassure myself that I did, but it was still a wondrous thought.

Where will I be a year from now? If the past year has been any indication, I really have absolutely no idea.