Returning from Alaska

So it's been a long 6 1/2 weeks up here in Anchorage. I didn't think I'd process ending AmeriCorps and moving on to thoughts of the next big step so quickly. Grad school seems like such an important, looming step for development. It will pigeonhole me into one field, trap me physically in one place, have me living like a miser or pauper, and send me on my way into a field with no guarantees and massive debt.

Whether I get into American should be made clear to me soon, though I'm pretty confident I will. I know I could have applied to--and likely been admitted to--a more highly ranked program, a better-known or more prestigious name even in DC. But I don't want to be a Georgetown douchebag (sorry to readers with sensitive ears), and GW doesn't have either the heart nor the stated dedication to service as a central theme of the program at AU.

I suppose my concern, in retrospect, is why I was so enamored of DC that I felt I had to return. I had thought, during AmeriCorps, that I'd discovered a truth; that it didn't matter where you were located as long as you could surround yourself with people and pursuits you were passionate about. I wish, now, that I had cast my net a little wider than just one school in Monterey and one in DC. But now is not the time to begin rethinking yet again. I know I'll like the program at American, and I can apply for transfers to other schools a bit sooner, if needed, since I'm due to start in the spring semester. But given how my military dependent funds will dry up soon if I don't get cracking, it's undeniably time to start this next step. The academic engagement, stimulating and liberal environment, and chance to really get to know DC in a non-continuation-of-Midd context will be great for me personally.

Back in Florida for just one day thus far, I've gotten my local ID, a library card, temporary gym membership, and my bearings. Life is good.