Leaving the Educational Arena

It seems that our initial thoughts when entering undergrad or graduate school is to finish as quickly as possible...successfully of course. However, we fail to realize that there will be a major void in our lives once we complete our educational missions. I've experienced this void firsthand and so have many of my fellow graduates. We miss our fellow students and many of our professors. We experience feelings of emptiness, sadness, and inadequacy (at least I do!), and wonder what else we can do to challenge our intellect and give us a further sense of companionship and accomplishment. Unfortunately, for most of us, we have other responsibilities that must be met e.g., family, bills, employment obligations, etc. So, we must plod on in this void and relish with pride our memories of a prior existence in the educational arena.