From the archive

You don't need a new life. You need to get through the boring part

The beginning was wonderful. You bought the tickets, signed up, announced it, packed. It was frightening, interesting, and very easy to understand: you were changing your life. Then Tuesday arrived. No particular kind of Tuesday. You had to open the textbook again, send emails, turn up on time, sort out documents. Nobody applauded. It didn't photograph especially well.