Graduate Schools Galore

February 22nd 2022

My Life Plan

All of my life, or what feels like it, I've always given an answer to what I plan to do with it. Pestering parents and relatives would always elicit the answer "undergraduate, graduate School, teach."

I tallied the steps off like a routine because that always felt like the sum of my goals. No one ever really told me about getting there; see what they sometimes lack to teach you about big dreams is how to reach them. McNair, in a way, gave me some clarity in that department. I finally woke up to the concept of figuring out what those three steps really meant.

Rubik's Cubes and Research

Have you ever done a Rubik's Cube? The way I go about them is pretty rudimentary considering how most people do. Solve one side then deal what you have left. Sometimes you'll need to make minor changes to your solved side or really just undo it almost entirely, but it works out eventually. That's how I'm taking on learning about graduate school almost but with a touch more structure. The only daunting part is that I've never really finished a Rubik's Cube. Yet, in my short time of participating in McNair I feel like I have more direction. I know where to start.

In my grad school frenzy of researching the beginnings of programs and looking effectively at faculty I've been able to narrow the seemingly endless pool into something just a bit more manageable. Here is where I'm at:

- Pratt Institute

- Minneapolis College of Art and Design

- New York Film Academy

- Academy of Art University

- School of the Visual Arts

- Rochester Institute of Technology

Closer to certainty

I wondered a lot when I was a bit younger where I would end up exactly with school, but everyday I get closer and closer to it. I'm met with a bit more fear and eagerness; afraid that something will stand in my way, or afraid that I'll

get there and it will not have been anything of what I'd wanted or thought. With that, I'm also becoming more sure that it's a move worth making.

I've never been completely sure of anything in my life, and this whole adventure isn't any different. Now it feels that even though I may not know for sure, I'm more prepared than I ever thought I'd be.

*Images from nature "What Not to Do in Grad School" and from UP Photo Co*