#39 - Start a PhD Program

During my life I have said both "I would NEVER run a marathon" and "There's no way I'm going to go get my PhD."  I wonder if I've subconsciously challenged myself to do anything else time consuming, exhausting, and difficult!  I hope not because man, this is going to be another tough challenge... and probably a bit more time consuming than that silly marathon!

Last fall I applied to 5 schools: Loyola University in Chicago, Vanderbilt University, the University of Michigan, the University of San Diego, and the University of Texas at Austin.

I was actually planning to apply in the fall of 2010 but I soon realized that I needed to do a LOT of homework to even choose which schools to apply to, let alone complete the giant applications.  I was looking for a school where I could get a PhD within the area of Higher Education without having to focus in Academic Affairs.  I didn't mind if my time would be split between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs but I am 95% sure that I am a Student Affairs person through and through (75% of that 95% being Campus Recreation).  I wanted to take my work experience and my master's studies and push them further, particularly in the areas of mental health awareness, first-generation students, LGBTQAI students, collaboration, and out-of-the-classroom learning on diverse campuses.  

My first rejection was from Loyola.  I was genuinely surprised.  I really thought I'd get it.  I was bummed and relieved at the same time.  I knew that if I got in somewhere, I wouldn't be staying in Chicago.  That was a strange feeling.  But I also didn't want to stay in Chicago.

My second rejection was from Vanderbilt.  I guess I wasn't really surprised.  I thought I'd at least get an interview.  I mean, I'm a smart girl.  I did well on my GRE.  Oh well.  I guess Nashville wasn't for me...  I was really hoping for an excuse to at least visit though.

Next I was rejected by the University of Michigan, my alma mater.  I wasn't surprised but it was at this point that I realized that I had been rejected from 3 out of 5 schools... and just hadn't heard back from the other 2.  I had a little awareness crisis, that maybe I was not as smart as I thought I was.  But then, Michigan is a research school and I really didn't want to do research as a profession, so it wasn't a good fit.  But then, did that mean that Texas wasn't a good fit either?  Basically, I was freaking out a bit.

I was then asked to interview at the University of San Diego.  Well, what a great excuse to visit San Diego and my lovely friends there.  Then I read it again and saw that we would be doing group interviews.  Weird.  I panicked about what to wear.  Dino & Karen helped me.  (Light grey suit with a sea green flowy tank under.  Thanks, Dino, for the feedback and Karen, for the last-minute shopping trip!)

The interview was actually pretty cool.  There were about 30 of us and they put us in groups of 5 or 6 and had the faculty rotate from room to room interviewing the groups, giving each person a turn to answer.  It was a great chance for us to show our strengths, personality, and ability to work with a group we didn't even know yet.  Plus, we could not-so-secretly root for the other people in our group because feasibly we could all get in if we banded together and did well.  Plus, the faculty seemed genuinely interested in us as students.  That seemed unusual for a doctoral program.

It was only a week or so later that I heard I got in.  I GOT IN!  Yay!

Soon after, I accepted.  I sent in my check.  Tonight was the first night of class.  It seems like my first semester will be pretty manageable as I took a leadership course for my master's program.  (Oh, my program is Leadership Studies with a focus in Higher Education.  And yes, the faculty are unusually interactive in a wonderful way.)  The next few semesters though... whew, lots of work ahead!

Oh, so you stuck around to hear about what ever happened to Texas?  Apparently they never received my resume or transcripts.  The two easiest things to send in.  Seriously, that application was probably 13 pages or so.  But they leave it up to the applicant to use a log in to make sure Admissions has received everything.  I did so about a week after the application due date.  Good thing I already love USD!

Oh yeah, and my campus is BEAUTIFUL!

#40 - Move to a New State

I'm a Cali girl now!

I got into the University of San Diego and then the planning was on!

Dino & K Rob helped me find a new place.  I'm living in Hillcrest, a hipster / gay neighborhood of San Diego.  Love it.  I have 2 roommates right now: Caroline and Shaheen.  Awesome.

Thank you, thank you to the wonderful people who helped me with my move...  Angela & Christina for physical and emotional support.  Norris & Nora for lunch and then helping me actually pack and clean.  Ed & Edric for a pizza dinner and then taking my stuff.

And OF COURSE Jerry Krone for sharing my drive from Chicago to San Diego with 2 cats and a lot of stuff in tow.  We spent a good 5 days together and were even sad to part!  It was an amazing trip and I am SO happy to be here!

#37 - See 3 Academy-Award-Winning Movies I've Never Seen

Oops.  I remembered this one wrong and instead of three, I watched TEN.

And instead of listing them chronologically, I am going to list them by preference, top ten list style.

10. Out of Africa (1985), watched 4/14/12
I put this at number 10 because I had to look it up on Wikipedia to remember it.  Now that I do, I remember I really liked it.  I learned a little.  The characters are great.  It's based on a memoir.  The acting is superb.  If this gives you any hint, I really enjoyed all 10 of the movies I watched.

9. Chariots of Fire (1981), watched 7/25/12
I probably should have put Out of Africa before this one.  I didn't really like it.  I was expecting to be motivated to lace up my running shoes.  Instead I was like, "Oh."  And I love sports movies, Olympics movies, running movies.  Huh.

8. Million Dollar Baby (2004), watched 2/24/12
I had put off watching this movie.  I think it's because it came out so close to Cinderella Man.  Though, I didn't watch that one either.  This is a little weird because I also love boxing movies, particularly The Power of One, The Fighter, and When We Were Kings.  However, The Power of One and The Fighter are about so much more than boxing, When We Were Kings is about real boxing, and I assumed these 2004 and 2005 movies were just about fake boxers.  Then I watched Million Dollar Baby, and... Wait, what?  What just happened?  I don't want to ruin it for anyone but if you think it's just about a fake boxing lady, you're wrong.

7. The English Patient (1996), watched 4/8/12
I know where my reluctance in watching this movie came from: "Seinfeld."  Definitely.  If Elaine hated it, I would too.  Screw everyone else who loved it.  In reality, I liked it but wow, holy depressing.

6. The Last Emperor (1987), watched 2/26/12
This was a lovely movie.  Biopic of biopics.  Just beautiful.  I also learned a lot.  And I loved that they did such a good job making Puyi so multi-dimensional as well as love- and hate-able.  I left with the impression I am sure the creators intended: how bizarre it must have been to be in that position.

5. Terms of Endearment (1983), watched sometime in June 2012
While this movie is notoriously depressing, so much of it is really funny.  Shirley Maclaine is amazing.  Really, the parts that stayed with me were hilarious.

4. Gandhi (1982), watched 3/25/12
Gandhi quotes have always been some of my favorite, especially, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."  However, this biographical film taught me so much about him and his actual actions that matched his words.  The story is incredible.  His struggles with staying pacifist during such difficult times are really intriguing.  I also learned a lot about the conflict between India and Pakistan.  This film inspired me to add Gandhi to the list of individuals I plan to learn A LOT more about (joining Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Harvey Milk).

3. The Artist (2011), watched 2/3/12
When I was making this list, I was thinking about how much more modern this movie is than the rest on the list.  The ironic part of that is that it's a black-and-white, silent film.  I remember everything about seeing this film in the theater.  I was in Ann Arbor, visiting my parents as my dad had just had heart surgery (preventative, really, he's great).  We were driving to the theater when I got a call from my director telling me that one of our on-campus colleagues had committed suicide.  My mom suggested we do something else but sitting in a dark theater, quietly watching a silent movie seemed like exactly what I wanted to do right then. Then, the production was beautiful; the acting is spectacular; and the story moves along quickly.

2.  Chicago (2002), watched 3/5/12
I thought I was going to hate this.  I don't know why.  I even like musicals.  Kinda.  Live ones, anyways.  But this movie was awesome.  There was so much grit.  And the musical numbers were done so similar to what would be on the stage, especially "He Had It Coming," the song about killing dudes who deserved it.  It was really, really good.

1.  Platoon (1986), watched 5/24/12
This movie is so much like recent war movies - except, those movies hadn't happened yet.  This movie helped establish the genre of effed up war movies.  I may have particularly enjoyed it because there were so many actors in it who are doing completely different things now, like comedy.  So strange.  Very intense.