June 21 is the last day of session for the New York State Legislature. It also is the last day that I will be an intern at the New York State Assembly. I will at that point working a full-time job, quite possibly continuing on as staff with the Assembly.

I am looking forward to that point in my life. Even more important is I will be moving out for good from my parent's home. While in the past I was a student, living up at the campus at Plattsburgh State in a dormitory, this time it will be different. It will be an experience all on my own, chance to more fully develop myself. I will no longer be limited to the choices on-campus or the values forced upon me by the state university, but instead allowed to live however I want to live.

Live Simple

This great freedom gives me a lot of choices to develop myself in a great number of ways. Yet, I realize that I can't do everything in one day, and have to start small. I will probably start out with a minimal studio apartment and minimal furnishings. I want to work hard not to live a life of clutter or consumption, and will take great steps to only obtain things I really need. There is too much waste in our society. Part of this is caused by our notion that things are cheap, and therefore it's okay to consume. They also create a temporary euphoria in our lives, that quickly is worn away once we accept the items as part of our lives. We too often replace things with the things that make life truly great – love and our passions for the natural world around us.

I don't plan to own a television or a bunch of fancy electronics. I am quite happy with my minimal IBM ThinkPad R60. That gets me free and fast Internet when I go a WiFi hotspot. It needs no expensive software to feed it, as it always downloads that from the Internet automatically. Other then that, things will be simple and about a place to spend the night before going off to the next thing.

Consume Little

I will act similarly when it comes to shopping. I will try to eat as much as possible locally and look towards going to farmers markets, farm stands, and orchards. It's not only a much better and potentially more inexpensive way to eat, it's also a great networking tool with the local consumer oriented branch of agriculture.

Sometimes I will have to go a supermarket and get the 'things' that are impossible or inconvenient to get through more local channels. My choice will not be the mega-mart like PriceChopper or Hannaford, but instead a store like Walmart or K-mart. These stores don't have the selection or the temptation to just buy whatever flashy strikes your eye. Instead, they have a lot of odds and ends, and lots of junk not disguised as real food like other supermarkets.

I doubt I will be perfect. Who can beat having some beer in the evening, or some good tasting beef jerky. I just don't see the purpose spending half of my money on fancy pre-cooked dinners or cookies, complete with disposable packing loaded with a variety of toxins. Recycling is important, but why waste when you don't have to waste? A recycled bottle is just one more step away from a landfill.

Explore

When I move out I will have more of a chance to explore more of New York State. Not only will I have more disposable income with a single full-time job, I also will be living alone and have more free time. I want to see more of New York State and beyond.

My truck will take me quite a bit farther for a few more years. It's not totally worn out, and I think I will have many more fun weekends with it. I will be able to go up in the woods and camp out in the forest, drive out and visit the small towns of the Mohawk Valley and the beautiful rolling farmland that surrounds it, and be taken away by the views of Western New York.

Save

I came out of college in quite good shape compared to most people. I have no debt and have saved up thousands of dollars from a variety sources. I don't want to touch that money right away, and indeed I want to add to that money. I seek to save at least $50 a week if not more and look for new ways to invest that money.

While not a lot money to start out with, I hope to increase my savings and look towards new ways to streamline my life and find more ways to put money away. That money will eventually go towards the small farm I plan to build eventually, that will embrace solar energy and a variety of environmentally sensitive principles.

Subject to Change

That's how I see the start of my new life as of now. I realize things will change in the world around me, and even my core values will be modified towards the realities of the world around me. Yet, somehow I want do better and change the world more then my parents ever did. I want to dream big and see the world change around me.