On the Road Again

Well, I suppose not entirely.  But it is a lovely metaphorical road with straight brickwork that arches in the center to allow the water to drain when the roads begin to flood a bit.

Really, it is just the road to grad school.

I have lately been eyeing a program at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts that would allow me to get not one, but TWO degrees in two or three years.  In one fell swoop, I will earn an MS in Library Science for Services to Children and an MA in Children's Literature (I will get to take a class on Folk tales!)  I had initially thought it would be my best investment of money to find a Phd program that struck my fancy and dig in for the long hall, but upon investigating the programs in Rhetoric and Composition, I found myself disinterested in the courses they had to offer.  With descriptions detailing the studies of the like of Bahktin and Leyotard, I quickly realized I can confused my interest in teaching others how to communicate clearly with the study of linguistic communication.  Do not get me wrong, I find linguistics very interesting.  It is the theorists who swarm to linguistics and develop mildly dizzying and entirely infuriating tomes about the exchange of symbols and signs.  These things are all well and good to study; someone must do it so we can better communicate about our skills to communicate abstract and simple thought.  I must declare, though, I will not be the one to do it.
Instead, I have come to the decision that I will cast my lot with libraries.  They are not public schools, that demand teacher licensure and somewhat standardized curriculum; they are public entities that are molded by the combination of enthusiastic staff and hungry patrons.  This is the mix I want to toss myself into.  I have begun volunteering at the public library here in Grand Rapids and have absolutely loved it.  Additionally, I snuck back to Chicago last weekend to continue to enjoy the city I may still love most in the world while the Harold Washington Library hosted Benjamin Saenz and John Green as they spoke about the relationship of a classic Chicago novel to the current genre of young adult fiction.

As a librarian, I would get to plan and throw these events.  How sweet is that?  Right now I am limited (ha!  Limited!) to helping plan an online book group for teens, and I wish I could spend my whole day working on research for it.  Instead, I work for my paycheck so that I can pay my bills and come home hungrier to send out my application.

Which brings me back to the road I have embarked on.  I have begun to put this application out of my hands.  Gary holds one recommendation form, the other will shortly be handed off to Dean.  Then it is up to me to track down my transcripts, far as they have been scattered across the globe.  It seems a tad silly for me to pay $15 to procure a transcript from and institution in England from whom (whom? hmm, I'll stick with it) I only took two courses.  But they have requested it, so I must comply.

Gary's affirmation of my statement of purpose has given me the necessary boost in motivation.  Hopefully I shall have applied by early November.  Huzzah!

I shall now make myself some buttered noodles and return to Scout and Jem.