It's the Good Advice that You Just Didn't Take

I know, my advice seems pessimistic. Some undergrad's all psyched about grad school, and I piss all over their enthusiasm

Well, someone has to piss on their enthusiasm. I remember being at that stage of the game, and I just didn't have a clear idea of what I was heading into. I had a vague sense it would be hard to find a job in the same place as the Future Dr. Mrs Dr. PGS. But no one looked me in the eye and said, "You'll spend the next ten years scheming about how the two of you can be together, and a lot of the time--maybe most of the time--you won't make it happen." And I remember when my friends asked me when I'd be moving back home, I said I didn't know. But that was bullshit--I should have known. The answer was, and is, never. But no one looked me in the eye and said, "You'll never live here again."

It's hard to get a clear-eyed look at the sacrifices you'll have to make when they're still a long way off.