Grad School

I was thinking about a masters degree in 8 1/2 years ago when I was student teaching.Then I got engaged and married and mothering a little boy took precedent over grad school. I didn't know if it was postponed or cancelled. I always figured I'd eventually take classes of some sort, simply because I love to learn new things, but I didn't know whether I would pursue a degree or not. However, Hubby and I began discussing the idea a few weeks ago (partly because he is taking some classes of his own, and there are some financial benefits to both being in school for a while), and I confess I jumped at it. I think it took me about 39 seconds to make up my mind that if I could find a good online program, I would go back to school.

8 years ago when I was looking at grad school, I wanted to study psychology. I had been interested in it ever since Psych 101 when I was 16. I think people and their minds are fascinating. Perception and culture and belief and the power of the mind over the body... 8 years ago, the masters programs I looked at would not accept me unless I had my undergraduate degree in Psychology (which I don't), so this summer I began looking at programs to get a BS in psychology. Online! That was the catch, of course, was that I needed to be able to do it online!! And then I found a MS program, which was online, which I could do regardless of what my undergraduate degree was in. And so I applied.

Here is an excerpt from my application essay:

I am currently in the process of becoming a doula and childbirth/fertility educator. Following my own experiences with infertility, pregnancy, miscarriage, birth, and breastfeeding, I knew that my teaching abilities could be well applied within these areas of women’s health. I have been doing this informally for some time, but am preparing to begin teaching formal classes as well. I feel that a degree in psychology will support me in these endeavors because these experiences are as mental as they are physical. I particularly hope to work with women who are experiencing crisis pregnancies, or have survived infant loss, sexual abuse, or other traumas, and I know that the mental facet of those situations will affect the physical experience of each woman I serve.

So, as of this week, I am officially a grad school student (I start classes the first week of September).
Plus all the regular fun of mommyhood and wifehood, holding down the fort, babysitting a second 2-year-old 45hrs/wk. Plus keeping up with The Amethyst Network, and actively working on pulling together my childbirth ed class curriculum, and doing my reading for my doula training...

And you expect me to still write blog posts? Oh yeah, this is me. Of course I'll still write blog posts. ☺ I just don't know how frequent they will be. Once or twice a week may be the norm. With that said, I also have been thinking I'd like to do the weekend Linky Roundups like I used to do. I share a lot of links on facebook, but I have been thinking that maybe on the weekend I should post the list of them here too. There are some great articles out there and it seems like there's not much point in my writing about things that someone else already wrote, right?!