"Fought the Good Fight, Finished the Race, Kept the Faith"

There is a superstition that every 7 years the general trajectory of our lives change. The first 7 years of my life I was completing my orientation for life on earth, the next 7 years I was getting the basic skills I would need for life as a student, then the third 7 year period was about my preparation for my life abroad, and the 4th 7 year period was about adjusting to life abroad. If that superstition has any validity, my recent 28th birthday marked the beginning of my 5th septennial. As the "master of my fate: captain of my soul", this septennial is about laying the foundations for a balanced professional career and my own family. Knowing how sometimes I procrastinate on new journeys, the universe threw me 3 curve balls over the past few months to kickstart this chapter: lost a romantic relationship, moved to a new city, and had material changes in my work life. In this post I will ramble incoherently on these catalysts for the new chapter. 

When I was younger, I was anxious in my attachment style. I was in love with the idea of love and thought each of my love interests should stay in my life forever. But as I have grown relatively more secure, I have come to learn that people, romantic partners included, are "not to be possessed but simply to be experienced". This most recent relationship was in a lot of ways my first relationship with true love. (Love as I came to learn in bell hooks' All About Love: New Visions is, "the mutual commitment to the spiritual advancement of one another.") In it, I felt supported to be my truest and best self, and I am told I did my part as well. Even when the commitment to each other's spiritual growth meant going our separate ways, I left infinitely a better man than when I went in. As I have been grieving the end of this relationship and healing my heart, I know the relationship and life skills I picked from experiencing this wonderful human have set me up well for the future. If I could go back and redo everything, I would change nothing. 

When I graduated from undergrad and my friends dispersed across the US and the world, I vowed to leave the Bay Area as soon as I graduated from my masters program. But then the pandemic happened, I delayed my graduation, found love, and found work in the Bay Area. So I stayed even after graduation. My company was among the companies that decided to turn fully remote and as such there was no requirement for me to stay in the Bay. When my lease expired, I moved down south to Los Angeles. Finally, it feels like I have left the shadows of Stanford. I am still settling in and finding my footing, but so far it seems I am going to have a great time. I am most excited about getting more involved in my creative pursuits: my art, my poetry, and by extension, my rap. I already have a community of creatives in Inglewood that I am excited to keep working with. This coming week I will finally start my dance classes because no more will I be told I dance like my father. Above all, I am glad my community building exercise is continuing here too. Moving is certainly an adjustment, but in all, this next chapter of Rama the skating rapper is promising. 

The final set of changes are on the work front. I am working on new projects that are outside of my comfort zone and that require the learning of new domain knowledge. I am a bit nervous and also excited because if I can successfully master this new knowledge, the dividends for my career in the short and long term would be invaluable. It is at moments like this that I am grateful I chose to build my career as a specialized generalist. I approach my work and my career as a generalist--with a core set of specialized skills, but adaptable to changing environments and applications. I am really excited for the next year in my job. I feel more convinced of my professional objective: to help people and organizations make higher quality decisions. I am thankful to grow in a team of so many talented and supported individuals--both past and present. Here is to learning. 

As I close this incoherent ramble of the transitions from the 4th septennial to the 5th one, I think of the recent San Francisco half marathon I completed. Like most things in my life, I signed up for it on a whim. But in the many weeks leading up to the race, I enjoyed the discipline of training for it--even though I was inconsistent at times. During the day, I had hoped to finish the 13.1 mile (21 km) race in 2 hours 30 minutes, but took 15 minutes longer. I took longer because in the last few miles of the race I got cramps which limited my race. But I pushed myself to the end of the finish line. As I finished the race I remembered Paul's writing, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." It was true of the marathon, of my relationship, of my time in the Bay, and of the previous chapter of my work. The new road will have its challenges, but I am confident it will be a joyful adventure!