Thinking, Thinking, Thinking......

I woke up this morning thinking about my birthday. I suddenly occurred to me that I am going to be 40 years old in seven weeks. I feel like I maybe I should be freaked out by this... but I'm not. Do I wish that I finished up my degree a few years ago so I would be working in a different field right now? Yes. BUT that means I probably would still be in the wrong field. Right in line with that "no coincidences" thing that I completely believe in, Lesley University showed up in my life at the exact right time.

I also woke up thinking about Grad school. Right now I've got three schools I'm applying to. The first one is Sarah Lawrence in New York. They have the only Masters in Health Advocacy in the country. I'm planning on taking a ride up there and seeing what the campus is like. They don't have graduate housing and it sounds like the area is pretty expensive to live in - but they are still on my list. The second choice is Boston University. They have a dual degree program that is a Masters in Social Work and a Masters in Public Health that looks very interesting to me. The program is three years and you get your MSW after two and then continue on and get your MPH. The third one is Lesley but that really is my "safe" school. They say you should have a "reach" school and a "safe" school. I would love to apply to the JFK school of government for their Masters in Public Policy. It's a two year intensive program that makes you live on campus. The prospect of living in Cambridge for two years is very exciting to me. The only problem with this program is that you have to take the GRE's which are the Graduate Record Exams. I don't do well at standardized testing so am not sure how I would do with this. I'm going to take the practice test online and see how I do. If I do OK I may sit for it and give the JRK school a try.

I never in a million years thought I would be in this position where I would be worried about getting "accepted". It's a bit nerve wracking.

Anyone out there with any advice? Who am I kidding I'm just looking for someone to tell me what to do!

Thoughts on school and blogging

As I mentioned in that oh so swanky "about me" box I'm a full time college student. I am getting my Bachelors in Psychology from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. They offer this tremendous program called the Learning Community Bachelors Low Residency Program. Basically twice a year you hole up for a week at a hotel with 20-30 other adult learners. During this week you meet faculty, plan studies (not packets people, studies)and learn more about yourself and your learning style that you probably ever wanted to know. People take anywhere between 6-18 credits that are due during the six months in between residencies. I just passed in a paper that was due yesterday, it was a three credit elective course and I did it on Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution in China. You see that's the best thing, you get to pick what you want to learn! It's a hard program, you have to be self disciplined and humble enough to reach out to friends, other students and faculty when you are in trouble. I probably have it the easiest. I'm single, live alone and have no kids. There are plenty of people who have husbands, kids, pets...you name it. My biggest time issue is my job..but thats for another time. Anyway, I've met some incredible people and made some fabulous friends that I know I will keep for the rest of my life. That in itself is a strange thing. Making new friends at 39. These friends have added a whole new dimension to my life and I am forever grateful for that.

This whole blogging thing is just a bit bizarre. You can follow the lives of people that you don't even know. Check out this blog that I found completely by accident. I am able to follow this man's life as he re-enlists in the Marines just so he can go back to Iraq. Through his site I can follow his sister's journey while adopting a child. It's all so surreal...but I have to admit I like it.