The semester is finally winding down, and I’m beginning to prepare for the changes that this summer will bring. Last night, I addressed 150 wedding invitations. I’m getting married on June 13.

Tying the knot is probably the biggest change that I’ll be going through this summer. It’s kind of an odd concept that I’ll be with the same person for as long as I live. I cannot seem to fathom that length of time. I’ve always viewed life from the standpoint of “Well, I’m alive today, but I could be dead by this time tomorrow.”

After all, stuff happens. It could be a car crash, a drive-by or an aneurysm. Nobody knows. The point is, life is fleeting, and I’m not sure when my time is going to come. But after thinking about the “‘Til death do you part” section of our wedding vows, I’ve kind of decided that I’d like to live to see a ripe old age.

This is certainly a huge leap in my thinking. When I was in high school, I wanted to die when I was 27. That’s the age that Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain died. I wanted to make a name for myself early on in life and then join the “27 Club.”

But I now have a wife and a child to care for. Sharing in their love is the most important thing in the world to me right now. People frequently ask me if I know what I’m getting myself into. They ask if I’m prepared for the changes that will happen in my life.

I’m completely for all of the changes. In fact, I’m actually looking forward to them. I’m not 100 percent sure that getting married is the right thing to do, or the thing that I want to do. Nobody ever is when they marry. But I assume that the changes will bring a lot of happiness into my life.

Of course, not all of the changes are going to be positive. I realize at least that much. Getting married is going to put my fianc‚e and me into the poor house. Not that we had a lot of money to begin with. But you’d be surprised at how much money goes into a wedding (professional photographers start at $600).

So, we are preparing for a little tightening of the belt. I know, however, that we are not going to be broke forever. Eventually we’ll stumble into some money or work hard enough to save some money. Or maybe we’ll win Publisher’s Clearinghouse. It sends us at least two notifications that we’ve won millions of dollars every single day.

I’m also not sure at this point whether I will be back next semester. Every year it becomes sort of a gamble. I’m not sure if I have good enough grades to return (I’m already on temporary enrollment) or if I’m even motivated enough. But I did register for classes, so I’ll wait and see.

My son, Erik, is ready to start walking at any time. He has gotten to the point that he can pull himself up on furniture and stand for long lengths of time. Every so often, he’ll let go and see how long he can stay suspended in the air before crashing down to Earth on his butt.

I’m frightened by the prospect of Erik being able to walk. He already crawls at a lightning-fast pace. He gets into everything. He pulls hundreds of books from my bookshelves four or five times a day. He rips all of my CDs out of the CD towers. Every time I clean my apartment, he has it torn apart again in less than an hour.

I can’t begin to imagine the amount of damage he will cause when he can walk. Unfortunately, that is only the beginning. He’s going to quickly learn how to climb, and then none of my possessions are going to be safe. But that’s one of the prices for having a child, and no matter what he does, I’m going to love him anyway.

This summer also holds some interesting changes in store for this university. By the beginning of next semester, the M-Shop might be a designated no-smoking zone, People’s Theater might be open at last, and The Drummer might be extinct.

The September 29th Movement will also experience a lot of change this semester. The Movement’s main core (Milton McGriff, Allan Nosworthy, Meron Wondwosen and Brian Johnson) all graduate after this semester.

I’d like to take a moment to thank these people for all of the hard work and dedication they have repeatedly shown while trying to make the university a better place. I would like to wish you luck and good fortune on your voyages to find jobs, personal satisfaction, families and happiness.

I would also like to thank everyone who reads my column whenever it happens to come out. (I’m not very consistent with doing anything these days.) I hope that you all have a great summer. Stay out of trouble and strive to change for the best. Peace.

Ben Jones is a sophomore in English from Ankeny.