Thursday, August 16, 2012

Transitions

                                                             Forbidden City

So here we are, at the cusp of a new semester of school. Since I graduated in May, this fact should have no impact on my life; however, prior to my long-awaited graduation I did the unthinkable and applied to graduate school. The graduate committee proceeded to do the unthinkable and accepted me into the program. Rotten luck, that. If they had only turned me down, I wouldn't feel obliged to go. But, despite my abysmal GRE math scores I have been admitted to the history program and begin school next Monday. I have three evening classes, running from 6:30 to 9:20, Monday through Wednesday. I gleefully believed my time for sitting through long evening classes had come to an end, but it was not to be.

Honestly, I'm not going into this latest endeavor with my whole heart as I did when working toward my undergraduate degree. My undergrad degree was my goal, my dream, and it had my full attention. I was determined to succeed and obtain my degree, no matter how long it took or how difficult it became. I don't feel that way about grad school. It's almost like I'm must testing the waters with this first semester. Can I stand to do the school thing for another year and a half? Is it worth it to me, to deal with the homework and the time spent studying? I don't have the answers to these questions yet, but I soon will. I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, following a trip to China, I have been working part-time, continued with my volunteer efforts at the archives with a project that is taking longer than I anticipated, and I have been writing a book that I hope to complete before the end of the year. Not much going on, as you can see.

Also, as promised in an earlier post, I have begun two new blogs. One is about family history/genealogy, and the other about Ozarks/Missouri history. And just to top things off, I have a new Facebook page devoted to history and genealogy, located here. I hope you will stop by and visit me at my new locations. I will still pop in here from time to time; without a doubt I will have a few rants to make about grad school!