15 December 2011

The back-to-school funk

I'm in the go-back-to-school funk once again.

It's not traditional back-to-school for kids time, I am well aware. But at least once a year, I get in a several week funk of contemplating going back to school for another degree. I've almost paid off the first two degrees making this feel even more like I could do it because I could incur more debt. (Goofy rationale, I'm sure, but hey, it's how my brain works.)

So -- I'm contemplating.

There are two programs I look at repeatedly; the MA or PhD program in Philanthropic Studies at IUPUI and the low-residency MFA program at Seattle Pacific University. I applied two years ago or so for the MFA program and didn't get in that go around but I've written a few things in the mean time that I think are better than the pieces I submitted that time.

The Philanthropic Studies program has much more to do with how I currently earn my living. The only thing that sort of concerns me about that is the difference between theory and practice. While understanding fundraising theory and the motivation that makes people give is cool, with a lot of theory, there's always some breakdown between the ideal theory and how it works in real life. I feel like I could set myself up for a lot of cognitive dissonance if I did that program while working full-time.

Everytime I start thinking about school, I get in this funk about missing school (yep, I was that kid). And I also think about how overwhelming life would be to work and own a home and all that AND go to school. I have friends, including my co-Word Nerd blogger Stacie, that do it and I'm just blown away with how they somehow manage to get it all done.

Am I going to apply for school? Unlikely. Someday maybe. For now, I'll just plow through my funk and admire those who do go back.

No comments: