Is it worth it?

The hours spent in the lab.

The days spent with our noses in the book.

Will we have it all, or fall short of the dream?

It was just five more years, and only two left now,

Maybe even longer

And then, splat! The wall.

Do we try to run through it?

Or maybe go around it or over it?

Either way it involves late nights

With that nose back in that book

Friends began having children, and buying houses.

Going out on week nights

And spending their Saturday afternoons freely

And here we are with the books.

Analyzing more data.

The question still remains.

Will we have it all, or will we have nothing?

How good could life be though?

If we gave it all up before it all really began.

What’s a few more years after all?

The most expensive degrees

Are paid for with our tears and our freedom

Amongst all of these books, and all of these losses

The thought of maybe is enough to continue.

A career that we can actually enjoy,

Having more than our parents had,

And the return of our freedom at the end of it all

A new freedom, freedom to pursue the unknown

To explore whatever scientific mystery we can imagine.

To dare to make the impossible probable

And so the sacrifices are endured.

And the prices are paid 

The light at the end is seen.