What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Envy of the American ideal of success is a disease. We have become a nation obsessed with making money, advancing in work and living a lifestyle of riches and luxury. No one has time to breathe. No one has time to think.

I want success, but my own form of the word. I want money -- enough to survive. I want a job -- one that I enjoy and am challenged by. I want to live my lifestyle -- filled with my family, friends and beliefs.

I have always been concerned with achieving as much as I can. Push the limits, grab all that's available and make sure I can't do any more. I've always wanted to see how much monetary success I can reach.

Is that what I want, though?

I've started to really think about what I want out of life and what I want after graduation. Do I want to continue school, make a lot of money (hopefully) after graduate school and live on the fast-paced track of the majority of Americans?

Or do I want to take a different route, a potentially harder route, and graduate after only three years of college? Do I want to start my adult life earlier than first anticipated?

Hey, I've never been patient, and I've never been known to take the easy road.

The idea of being rich and famous, while definitely appealing, is not on my "to do" list for life.

I like to play. I live spontaneously, often not knowing what I'm going to do one hour from the next. That's one of the reasons I love journalism. I get to do all the things I love: talk to people, be in the office any time I want and, most importantly, write. It'll be a great occupation for me.

As freaky as it is to realize I will be on my own after May 2005, I'm excited. I'm ready to begin the "real" life. I absolutely love everything about college. I love being a college student, but I'm ready to see what's yet to come. What can I do from here? Where can I go now?

I do think that college students can make a significant impact on the community.

We face key opportunities to challenge our peers and professors on a daily basis. Discuss politics, discuss religion. Any prospect we have of expanding our knowledge of the world is always a plus, even if we don't agree with the principles or convictions of the other person.

So, in turn, if we listened to everyone who gave us their thoughts and remembered their words, we could graduate with an amazing perspective on the world.

I am excited about graduating. I can't say I listened to or remembered the advice people gave me, but maybe I'll retain a hint of past conversations when approached with a problem and be able to put that guidance to practice.

Of course, I do have four quarters left of school. Maybe I don't need to be concerned with the thought of leaving Ruston yet. Maybe I don't need to worry about reaching my personal goals of success in life.

Then again, maybe I do.

Judith McDaniel is a junior journalism major from Oak Grove. and serves as a news editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to jpm022@latech.edu.