Just what I needed...

When I finished graduate school in 2009, I swore to myself I would not return to higher education. I was burnt out on academia because I had just completed a one-year, accelerated graduate program. I graduated from undergrad in 2008 and two months later, I was back in school. I undoubtedly learned a tremendous amount and attended an incredible program but by graduation, I needed a serious break. I have been working for the last year and a half and slowly but surely, the idea of returning to school has found its way back into the forefront of my thoughts.

I had a professor in undergrad that I really viewed as a mentor and decided that in order to gather my thoughts on returning to school, I needed to speak with her. I kept rolling these ideas around in my mind and at one point, I asked myself if going back would be worth it. Am I really willing to give up some of my luxuries in order to pursue ideas? Probably!

I met with this professor on Friday for lunch and she told me everything I wanted to hear. She told me that she never expected me to stay put in one place for long and that getting my PhD is what she thought I would be doing by now. Of course she understands why I am working because bills accumulate and loans have to be paid back but she seemed worried that I would become complacent here and her assumption is correct. Either way, this professor gave me all of the information I needed to get the ball rolling on acceptance to a PhD program. I will be spending a few months just researching places I want to attend and I already have two universities in mind - both of which she said would be excellent choices for Sociological research. I am going to narrow down my interest and I think I have a school of thought in mind but I have a lot of reading ahead of me and planning.

Honestly, I am excited about the prospect of going back to college in 2012 and I hope it's in a location that I truly love because I will be there for four to five years. I also feel like if I don't go for this - I will always wonder, "Why not?" I went to film school because I love documentary work but I knew that when I left the program, the odds of me getting a position in the field would be small. Now that I have been out of that program for a while, I can reflect back on my experiences and at least I know that I studied something I truly love. I also think there are still ways for me to tie my film background into sociological research - in fact, I know there are ways. 

We'll see what the next few months bring....