Final days of the Spring Semester

Classes are finishing up here! I'm always in a good mood at the end of Spring semester. The promise of so much time to do research with none of the angst of wondering whether I'm being sufficiently productive. Of course, accompanying such a high point is the corresponding point near the beginning of Fall when, after putting it off as long as I can, I finally have to prepare for my Fall semester classes. That horrible feeling of disappointment that I could have gotten more done is the price one pays for these days. Oh well. It's these feelings that feed the drive to research...many family members outside academia don't understand how one can have the self-discipline to research (especially when one has tenure already).

It's strange because I always thought I was kind of lazy. Just doing chores such as taking out the garbage took so much effort (I've since seen studies that the laziness of teenagers is somehow biological). I guess it's true that if you find a profession that you like to do, you don't have to work a day in your life (except faculty meetings!).