Before break I wrote a really sappy column about my time at Gannon University coming to a screeching halt. Sorry about that.
The truth is, my time here may not actually be over. I have applied and been accepted to graduate programs, and Gannon is still one of my top choices.
I may very well find myself sitting in the same classrooms with the same professors come fall.
For a lot of people, grad school has become a way to waste a couple more years – and a lot more money – on school before figuring out what you really want to do and, y’know, doing it.
Bingo.
OK – it’s a slight exaggeration. What else do you expect from me?
I already know what I want to do, theoretically, in the sense that I don’t want to get stuck in a career I’m not happy with.
That’s almost too cliché even for me.
But to take that to the next level, I’ll agree to the statement that I’ve quite possibly narrowed it down to two promising career paths – I just have no idea which one I really, truly want to pursue.
And furthermore, I really don’t want to waste any time pursuing one of them only to change my mind later, or worse, regret it for the rest of my life.
I want to take the time to learn more about both and make an informed decision, rather than jumping into one with both feet only to think that the grass must have been greener on the other side.
So instead of going to law school – option No. 1, in no particular order – or getting a teaching certificate – option two – I’m pursuing higher education in the subject I love most.
I joke that I’m doing exactly what I previously said – wasting time – but if I really believed that to be true, I wouldn’t be doing it.
Wasting time may be one of my favorite pastimes when it comes to everyday life, but in the grand scheme of things I still view two years – and that huge wad of cash – as a major commitment.
And as I’m graduating in May with a bachelor’s in English, I don’t see how getting a Master’s could be the “wrong thing to do.” Not that anyone in particular is telling me it is.
Even if I’m not fully aware of it, there is something pulling me toward a Master’s in English; probably the same something that’s not allowing me to make any major life decisions right now.
Maybe it’s the little devil on my shoulder, but some subconscious part of me is telling me I’m not quite done with studying English; or with Gannon, for that matter.
Before spring break and my trip to New York, and even during most of that trip, I was feeling insecure and doubting this decision to stay in school.
I told myself I should be getting a real-person job and doing real-person things, like grocery shopping on a regular basis and going to bed before 2 a.m.
And while I will need to start doing these things in grad school, I still have the comfort of two more years decide where to go from there.
That sounds a lot better than the measly two months I’m staring at right now.
