1 Week down, 16 more to go

I've made it through the first week of the new semester. It was a short week for me since I was sick Monday and Tuesday and didn't go into the office. (I felt the need to clarify that I was sick AND didn't go into the office because if you know me, you know that in the past I probably would have been sick but would still gone to the office. Haha. But then again, in past years, going to the office meant walking into the next room and opening the door - totally enabling for a workaholic like me to show up in the office even when I was sick - now that I have to dress up and walk to across campus, even I take sick days. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that I've become a lot less of a workaholic here....)

The weird thing is that, even though I only spent three days in the office, it feels like I've been back at work forever. I'm back in the routine - hitting the snooze button in the morning because I just don't want to get up, standing in front of my closet for five minutes because I can't decide what to wear (I miss those days when I could wear jeans to work...I just feel more comfortable in jeans; it's more me), then the hours in the office where I'm trying to be productive in between meetings but always feel like I don't really get anything accomplished, and then the excitement when 5 o'clock rolls around and it's time to go home. And then (because that's what Residence Life is like), the evening meetings or programs or being on-call. I didn't really mind those in the past but this year, these evening commitments have been draining me. I'm trying really really hard to limit the number of evenings I have to work. I have RHA meetings on Monday; Area Council and Staff Meetings on Tuesday. I'm trying to keep Wednesdays my night off - we'll see how that goes - there's already two Wednesdays this month when I'll have to work (a program and staff development). And then Thursday I'm on-call.

How are you supposed to have a life when you work every night? I'm trying so hard to have a life this semester. I've blocked off time on my schedule for my dance fitness classes. I'm going to take guitar lessons (here, I said; now I really have to do it...haha). And then I will start studying for the GREs. Yes, I've decided it's time to go back to school - not quite yet - I'm hoping to start Fall 2011. But that means starting to do some grad school research now. I'd love to take the GREs at the end of this semester, so I can focus on applying to programs over the summer/next Fall.

What do I want to go to grad school for? Ha. Student Affairs, of course. I want to get my doctorate. I miss learning. I miss talking about student development and student learning. I miss thinking about things, reflecting on my experiences - on my students' experiences.

At first, I was a bit scared. I'm still not 100 percent sure I'm ready for a doctorate program. All the reading, the research, and and and. But then I started looking into programs - thinking about my research interests - and I got excited. I think I really want to do this.

After getting my doctorate, I want to go back to work - maybe as a higher-level administrator in ResLife or Orientation or Student Activities - maybe something in a Dean of Students or VP's Office; who knows. I could also see myself teaching at a Higher Ed program one day - molding the minds of future Student Affairs professionals. No matter what, I know I want my career to evolve around education, around student learning. I want the people I come in contact with to learn something from their interactions with me. And yes, I still want to make the world a better place - and I believe that education is the way to do it, at least for me.