I spent the majority of the past year dealing with a quarter-life crisis. (Anyone else spend their 25th year in a similar situation?) Namely, do I really want to be an archaeologist? Do I want to spend 6-10 more years in graduate school, just so I can get a job in academia that I could actually live off of? Would it be possible to be happy as a career federal employee, instead? Should I just say to hell with the past 7 years and try to open up a bakery/coffe shop/brewery/used book store? Would that even work as a business model? Do I every want to get married/reproduce, and if so, is the guy I've been dating for the past 4 years "the one"? etc... The following is a brief synopsis of the past year's events: I passed my Comprehensive Exams for my Masters of Anthropology (at UAA) and have submitted my Thesis Prospectus. I went to the Aleutians for the first time, and decided that Unalaska and Akutan are the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I spent 6 weeks in northern Kenya, excavating 1.5 mya fossils/artifacts, and learned that I cannot function in 110 degree weather and also that I hate the desert, scorpions, solafuges and paleoanthropological excavation techniques. I spent way too many hours being aggravated about my thesis and being angry at the people associated with my project. I presented a paper and a poster at the Annual Meetings of the Alaska Anthropological Association and the Society for American Anthropology (respectively). I found out that my cat will try to kill any kittens that I bring home. I spent an unhealthy amount of time in a closed lab surrounded by the remains of dead animals and humans. I did not get outside as much as I wanted to. One of my landlords developed Alzheimers. My boyfriend broke his femur; two weeks after getting metal screws drilled into his leg, his father died. My best friend's little sister got married, and my two roommates from college are getting married in the next 4 months. I've looked at way too many pictures of adoptable puppies. I picked up and processed my first road kill (porcupine) for use as a comparative zoological specimen. I got back into flying (which pleased my dad). And I've decided that I'm going to apply to Zooarchaeology PhD programs at some schools on the West Coast (U of O, UC Davis, U of W). All in all, it was a stressful year, and I didn't get nearly as much accomplished as I would have liked to. Quarter-life crises suck. Next year will be better!