Lighted paths

I've never been one of those people who knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up or, even now, to know the precise answer to the question "so what are you going to do with a PhD when you're done?"

No, where some people seem to have a laser sharp, bright beam of light that sees all the way to the end of the path, I walk in more of a fuzzy glow.  I carry a lantern that illuminates just enough ahead for me to know where to place my next step.  It's not that I'm not certain I'm in the right place right now. It's just that I don't necessarily know where those steps might lead.

Because of that, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for this quote:

Don't worry about what you will do next.  If you take one step with all the knowledge you have, there is usually just enough light shining to show you the next step.

(Terry Tempest Williams quoting Mardy Murie in her commencement speech at the University of Utah, May 2003)

I count on this to be true.