Grad School Dreams

I’m really lacking on the content lately, guys. I know. I’m not doing anything very interesting with my life and most of the discussable news topics are so sad that I don’t want to rehash them outside of actual, face-to-face conversations. No one wants to listen to me complain about the state of the economy, job market, social issues, and wars around the world.

Outside of that, I need to talk about something because the whole point of picking the blog back up is to start viewing it as a practice for possible future jobs: semi-regular blogging schedule, actual content, the whole shebang.

So today, we’re going to talk about grad school. 

I’m applying to two grad school programs but technically it’s three grad schools. Confusing, huh?

I’m planning to apply to UNC Greensboro for a Masters in Library and Information Science. Technically, I guess I could call this my ‘safety school’ even though I hate that term. It’s the school that I’m not entirely worried about getting into, unlike the following program.

My dream program is this dual degree program at NYU that also means taking classes with Long Island University. Upon completion, I’d possess not only a Masters in Communication (technically Media, Culture, and Communication but we’ll stick with COMM for short) but also a Masters in Library Science.

My attraction to this program is two-fold. Obviously, I want to work with books one day. I’ve dreamed of being an editor since as long as I can remember but I’m also aware of how few and far between those careers exist. So being a librarian? Pretty perfect consolation prize. I’m also a huge knowledge geek. I love to learn and to teach and to be taught. The ability to work in a field in which those are regular occurrences? Sign me up now!

On top of that, I fell in love with my communication program when I was working on my Bachelors. The reason I’m aiming for the dual degree is because the areas of study appeal to me. Two of them, if we’re being precise and I’m going to have to narrow that down to one. Right now though, I’m really interested in their Interaction and Social Processes area and their visual culture and cultural studies area.

So basically, the NYU program needs to be my future or I might die. Like, to death.

Okay. Teen Wolf inspired hyperbole aside, I’m going to work my butt off trying to make this a reality. 

Wish me luck!

Job Search, aka the number one way to make you feel inadequate about everything you’ve ever done in your life.

There is nothing more frustrating and disheartening than trying to find a job after graduation.

Let’s start this off with the fact that I have not one but TWO degrees. I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication (with a concentration in Public Relations) and a Bachelor’s of Arts in English. What’s the difference between Science and Arts? I guess just the department under which the major falls. Ironically, at my university, Communication is in the School of Communication and Fine Arts and yet, Science degree? Whatever. Not the point.

I have two degrees but both basically guarantee me to be jobless for the foreseeable future.

You want to know why I’m going to be jobless for the foreseeable future? I can’t afford to move to any of the cities in which I could actually find a job. I’d need to move a minimum of 3 hours away from my home town and an hour and a half away from the place I currently live where the lease runs out in July.

To make matters even worse, all of the jobs for which I’m actually qualified are all closer to the 10+ hours away range, in cities I am nowhere near able to afford at this moment. It’s really unfortunate. 

So there’s something to look forward to, kids. Don’t graduate from college. Ever.

30 Day Challenge: Life’s what you make it.

8. Imagine how your life would be different if a particular significant moment/detail in your life was altered or never happened.

Today’s topic is a bit worrisome for me on a couple of levels. First: I constantly analyze every single decision to see if I could have done something different and had a better outcome. Second: there so many things in my past that could change and completely realign my life as it is now, a life I kind of like most of the time.

My first thought was ‘what if I hadn’t dropped out of high school’? But I think I’m going to save that one for day 17 because, trust me, that’s the moment I knew the rest of my life would be different.

So then I remembered something even more applicable for today’s prompt. The day I found out I didn’t get into my first choice university.

Most of my life, I knew I wanted to major in English and I’d always been told that UNCW had one of the best English programs in the state. I applied, I had the grades, and then I just had to wait. Well, I never heard back so I finally contacted them. Apparently, my transcripts got lost in the mail between my community college and UNCW. They were filled up for the fall but would gladly have me in January if I was still interested.

Well, I didn’t want to wait so I applied to ECU in July of 2011 and got in, starting the next month. Now, I can’t even imagine going anywhere else.

If I had waited for January, I wouldn’t have my friend or roommates that I talked about yesterday. I definitely wouldn’t have decided on a second major. I honestly don’t think I would have done as well either. But, most importantly, I wouldn’t be the person I am now.

ECU changed me for the better. I made genuine friends here. I grew into my own skin here. I fell in love with myself here.

You see all those TV shows where the main character goes off to college and becomes the person they were always meant to be and you think it’s all so cliched and unrealistic. But it’s not. It happened to me. Even on my worst day, when my roommates are driving me up the wall and I’m stressed out from finals and I’m working two jobs that I hate and I’m trying to figure out why I ever thought I was cut out for this, I am happier in this tiny apartment in the busy city than I ever was back home, surrounded by comfort and familiarity.

I can’t imagine not having that now. I can’t imagine going anywhere else.

So maybe that’s not the point of today’s topic. Maybe I was supposed to imagine the life I could have lead at UNCW, spending down time at the beach or hanging out at local shops as-seen-on-One-Tree-Hill. But I’d rather be right here, sitting in my bed, in my freezing apartment, while I listen to my roommate making food and complain about her first day back in class. This is me. This is home.