So what am I doing with my life?

So I get this magazine from time to time called Deutschland. When you are a German professor, the publisher just sends it to you. When I thumbed through it the other night I noticed an article on up-and-coming young German authors. At the top of the list was Daniel Kehlmann and his Vermessung der Welt, the guy I am giving a presentation on next fall. But under his picture there was another one from Thomas von Steinaecker. I looked at the picture and thought, wait a minute, I know that guy. Thomas spent a year at the University of Cincinnati getting his master's degree (it took me three years at BYU). The guy even went to church with me once. At first I was surprised that he was a writer, and then I was happy for him that his first book has landed on the German best-seller list. But then I read that he wrote it at the same time he was finishing up his dissertation.

I barely survived writing my dissertation.

Sometimes I wonder how I manage to accomplish so little and what it is that is keeping me from becoming a writer like I have dreamed of doing since I was old enough to read books. So far it has always been and probably will continue to be "one of these days."