Solitary as an Oyster

One of my favorite descriptors for Ebenezer Scrooge (in the book and A Muppets Christmas Carol) is “as solitary as an oyster.” I think it’s something we can all relate to throughout the pandemic. We’ve all missed seeing family and friends at times. If you’re like me, you missed seeing family for Thanksgiving and you’re doing the same on Christmas. For the past few months, I’ve had another reason to be solitary: finishing my Master’s thesis.

The Long Journey

It feels weird to be so arbitrarily done after two and a half years of working towards my Master’s degree. There’s no graduation for December graduates (not that there would be right now), and I simply received an email that my thesis had been accepted. I’m considering printing out my thesis just so I have something tangible to hold to give me more closure. Since September, I have been in “all hands on deck” mode, devoting my days and many nights to working on my thesis. I’ve felt as solitary as an oyster, stuck working on my paper. There were times that I thought I wouldn’t make it, but as of Monday December 14th, my thesis was submitted and accepted. It took my multiple days to actually feel relieved and done. 

My FI journey thus far has been one of waiting. I’ve patiently learned and read while waiting for my opportunity to really put everything together. In undergrad, I dreamed and schemed. I had no money to invest, but I had a cheap car and no debt (due to scholarships and commuting). In grad school, my assistantship gave me a little  money to invest and taught me to be responsible with adult expenses. Now here I am at the end of that journey. I have a job offer that starts in the new year, I have a wife, and, insanely, twins on the way. I’m incredibly excited for my future, and can’t wait to even more fully embrace my frugal, but full, lifestyle.  

With my thesis comfortably behind me, I feel free to pursue blogging and other hobbies a bit more. I have some plans for this blog going forward. I have two new posts queued up and ready to drop in the next few weeks. After that, I’m going to try to write one blog post per week. I have some ideas for different blog series going forward, so it’s time to really get frugal!