CYBR650 Week 12
What we call the
beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end
is where we start from. - T. S. Eliot
Focus on the journey,
not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.
- Greg Anderson
Beginnings and endings.
As T. S. Eliot implied, they are often easily inverted. This is clearly an ending for me. One more item to check off my bucket list,
completion of a Master’s Degree. But,
also a beginning. I’m not sure what this
is the beginning of, so, it’s with a sense of anticipation that I look to the
future, with a sense of serendipity.
So what have I learned in these final courses for the
completion of my MS in Cybersecurity? First,
I’m humbled by the eternal lesson of learning what I don’t know. Every lesson showed me one more time that
there is so much more to know, knowledge that will only come with
practice. And with each question
answered, the humbling realization that I now have more questions.
But on a more practical note, I feel prepared to take on new
challenges. I’ve also gained confidence
to learn those new lessons, and to step into challenges I wouldn’t have had the
courage to attempt. I know they won’t
all be successes, but some of the best lessons are tempered in failure.
At moments like this I often think of my father. He was a scholar in the true sense of the word. Always curious, always asking and always
seeking a better understanding of the world around him. He loved history. I’m liking it more and more, but my passion
is technology. However, I would say
technology in the realm of relationships.
Technology provides the puzzles that need to be solved, people make the
search for the answer interesting. We
often talk about the human factor as the great variable in cybersecurity. It takes the work from being a technical
solution to one more art than science. I
know my father would find my work and my understanding of life in this context
something worth discussing.
And I know my father would appreciate that I embraced the
challenge and saw it through. I
encourage anyone who reads this to challenge yourself. It may not be a degree in cybersecurity, but
find your passion and begin the journey.
Bellevue University is a great place to pursue a degree, well designed
with enthusiastic staff who sincerely work to help you find your success. But if your passion is something else, pursue
it, embrace it, follow it, grow through it.
Reach outside yourself, step out of your comfort zone. It will be an exciting journey, a beginning,
and an end, all at the same time.
