So, I’ve been kicking around the idea of pursuing my PhD in Applied Linguistics.
Huh.
Upon researching admission requirements for a few interesting programs, I realized that I have no idea why I want to make such an academic commitment, beyond my deep-rooted need for success. And options. I’d like to have options.
Administration? Isn’t that what most TESOL professionals do with their PhDs? Or do they just flaunt their advanced degrees in order to get plum jobs in gorgeous areas of the western United States? That’s what I would do.
3-5 years of a limited social life, an even more limited stipend, and unlimited stress. (I have never managed to achieve that blessed balance between academic achievement and, uh… life.) But what’s worse is moving into another stretch of time in which everything seems temporary. Can’t get a dog yet—it’ll be hard moving with her later. Might as well keep renting—I’ll only be here a few more years. Doesn’t seem fair to get into a real relationship—my life’s gonna be uprooted any minute, now.
Sigh. I never thought I’d be twenty-five-years-old and aching for a sense of permanency. Aren’t most people my age trying to escape being “tied down?”
I wouldn’t mind being tied down if the ties were planted in good, wild land. Fortune, bind me to Montana! Fasten me to Washington State! Chain me to Colorado!
Just release me from my own disenchantment.
1 comment:
I don't know if this is good advice, but I think that whatever you end up doing you should treat it as if it is permanent. So often we say "When...then..." but our whole life is a series of those expereinces. Make it good while you are in it! Joy in the journey I say.
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