Five-year plan? How about seven?

All hail the coming of the great and powerful master! I am in total control and can break your wretched existence! Stand in awe at the magnificence of my creations! Bow before me, for I am Root!

Whew!

Sorry about that, but I had to take this opportunity to satisfy my wild megalomaniacal computer scientist cravings.

See, I'm the new guy in charge of the Technique server, which is a dream come true for any CS major. I've taken over from my predecessor, who graduated just last month after an extremely productive two and a half years in office.

That in itself isn't very unusual, since the average turnover time for the Online Editor position is two to three years.

What is unusual is that I'm now halfway through my fourth year at Tech and just starting this job.

After all, your average college student usually doesn't wait this long to accept such a prominent leadership post. Even on the Technique, most students apply for an editorial position during their second or third year.

This is supposed to be my final semester on campus, so it really doesn't make sense to take on new responsibilities without much time to carry them out.

Why did I even bother accepting this position, then, if I'm only going to be around for another few months?

That would be a really good question if one was to assume that I plan to graduate after four years.

Or five.

Or six.

In fact, I really don't plan on leaving Tech until this country starts gearing up for the next presidential election.

Due to both professional and personal motivations that are too cumbersome to discuss here, I'm not going anywhere for awhile.

But, you know, I'm okay with that. Yes, it's going to be hard watching a lot of my friends graduate before I do, but it's worth it to be able to move at my own pace and to maintain a sense of balance.

Over the years, I've watched as more and more of my friends have burdened themselves with so many academic and extracurricular commitments, that it's a wonder they even had time for a social life. They pushed themselves to complete the program in three or four years while trying to cram in as much leadership and career experience as they could on the side.

I would much rather extend my stay and stave off much of the overwhelming frustration and stress that plagues students who rush through their degree.

In an era when college students nationwide are taking five or more years to graduate, there's no shame in deciding to stick around for a while.

All of the experts even seem to agree that a longer undergraduate career works to the benefit of both students and employers: students have more time to adapt and grow and explore their own interests and gain valuable work experience, and employers end up with a more productive employee.

I would not be ready for a full-time career if I graduated this semester. But at the rate my education is progressing, when I finally walk across that stage three years from now, I'll feel much more confident and prepared to take on the real world.

And with the extra time, I can pursue other courses of study outside my computer science degree.

I can throw more effort into my extracurricular activities. I can find time to work out at the gym and hang out with my friends and family and even have a little personal time to myself.

I'll have opportunities to teach, travel abroad and conduct research. And I can do that without being in a perpetual deadline panic.

In the end, I'll be able to walk out with a couple of extra degrees, a good GPA and a lot of life experience to show for it.

So here I am, year four and just now taking my seat on the Technique editorial board. I spent my first couple of years limiting my extracurricular involvement so that I could adjust to Tech's academic rigors.

Now I'm a couple of laps behind many of my fourth-year classmates. But I don't care.

I'm happy and content, and I have plenty of time to decide where to go from here.

And now, having said that, I'm off to go rig . er . fix the server. Mwa-ha-ha!

Okay, I'd better stop before the Editor-in-Chief throws me any more menacing glares.