Wednesday, March 10, 2010

On Finishing a Graduate Degree

Tonight will be my last class meeting of graduate school. After tonight, my only obligation will be a take home test, but otherwise, no more of my time will be dedicated to sitting, listening, talking and writing... well in this way.

I've been doing this for two and a half years non-stop. There has not been a time that I have not been in at least one class as I took classes during the summer as well.

The sense of relief at the prospect of not having two evenings a week obligated to classroom time and the remainder dedicated to feeling guilty that I'm not writing or reading for school, is unbelievable. It's a significant amount of time to be reacquiring and I just cannot wait to have it all be mine. Oh, the things I'll do!

But there is fear attached to this as well. This has been a part of who I am and what I do for the last two years. Granted, I do a lot of things, but this has been hanging over my head as an excuse of sorts for why I don't commit more time to other things. Now, the excuse is being taken away and in some respects the pressure is on. I have to commit. I have to do. I have to be present and not with my mind elsewhere. No more excuses.

People have been asking me what this degree really means for me, and I think the best answer I can give is that it is going to enhance whatever it is that I do next. My degree is not going to move me into another job or another location, in fact, I'm considering just sitting still for a while, but it has and will continue to enrich what it is that I bring to the table as an employee, a citizen and a friend. I think I studied topics that were universal and enriching. In fact, for posterity's sake I'd like to post a list of my coursework:

Intro to Public Service Management
Marketing for Non-profit Organizations
Fundraising and Development
Strategic Planning
Education and Society
The Privatization of Education
Communication for Organizational Change
Multicultural Communication
Urban and Community Analysis
Social Policy and Change

I feel generally good about that list of topics. I feel like they are all up my alley and represent a future that I hope to be a part of. That being said, overall, I think now it is time to pursue creative endeavors. None of these have fallen by the wayside while committing this energy to classes, but I look forward to focusing on things like becoming a better singer and a more marketable artist.

I have ideas. I've been mulling them over for two and a half years. Now's the time.

Well, after tonight... and that test.

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