Where do I go from here?

So, the big day has arrived. Well, actually it will arrive on Wednesday, April 30th, at approximately 4:30pm. That is when I will walk out of my last final, thus completing my Bachelors degree. One class down, four more to go. Can you say excited? It has been a lot of hard work, and a busy three years, but I made it. I am feeling a mixture of excitement, relief, and accomplishment. I have been counting down to May 2008 for three years, and it is finally here.

Our shiny, new blog has been quiet since early April and I am definitely to blame for that. For the faithful few who read this, I apologize. I was supposed to post about my summer plans long ago, but never could seem to make time. Better late than never.

So, what does the future hold for me? More school, at least for now. I will begin working on my masters degree in Computer Science this summer at UTK. I will be working as a research assistant with a PhD student there. I think that in the long run, the work that I would enjoy most will require at least a masters degree, so Mary Grace and I decided to bite the bullet now and hopefully I will be finished in 18 short months. I am excited about some of the coursework that I will be taking in the next semester or two.

I will probably take a class or two this summer to get things started. There are still a few things up in the air, but I should have my plans firmed up by the end of next week. I will write a follow up post soon, and by then, I will have joined the proud ranks of the University of Tennessee Alumni.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Well, I have only one picture to go with this blog. In fact, I don't think we've taken many since our trip to DC. We've been...decision making.

It's funny, because I've learned a lot about decision making in graduate school. Since my major is Educational Administration, I have had classes on and have been through countless case studies to try to hone my skills at making informed, direct, prompt decisions. I consider myself a good decision maker - maybe a little impulsive at times. I like to make a decision and "die by it," not looking back, only moving forward, not letting those ideas like, "If you'd waited another day, you would've had these options," work their way into my head. Nope. I like to do it and move on. I'm not sure if it's because I am good at looking at the options and choosing the best one (ha!) or if I just am still not good at waiting for long-term benefits/consequences to become clear (more likely).

Ben and I have been talking about our plans for post-graduation with increasing fervor for probably six months now. And we can't make a decision because we're having to wait to see what the exact options will show themselves to be. This is nothing extraordinary. Everyone goes through this period in their lives - several times, I'm thinking. I guess it's part of becoming an adult. We're actually having to weigh consequences, think long-term, do what's best for our family, etc., instead of just doing what is expected.

Some decisions in life that could be considered big ones have been easy. It was easy to decide to go to college. It was easy to decide to accept a job at Sam Houston. Strangely enough, and maybe I shouldn't admit this, the decision for Ben and I to get married was (relatively) easy. Should it have been? Shouldn't the idea of committing yourself to one person for eternity give you reason to pause? Anyway, I felt then and I feel now, that we made a good decision. It was an easy decision - I just knew...
I'm digressing from my point.

So here we are, wondering what to do. We know about one option and will know concerning another next week. Just waiting in the meantime. I guess this really isn't a hard decision. In all likelihood, we'll be choosing between two good things. And I'll probably look back on it when having to make another important decision and think, "Well that one wasn't very hard. I mean, we just knew what the right thing to do was." In retrospect, it's easy to forget about all of the weighty discussions until midnight. Talking about what might happen with Option 1, Option 2, or Option 3.

It is exciting, though. And next week's coming. Ben will actually be posting once he has made a decision. And once he's finished with whichever school project is currently keeping him glued to his laptop until late in the night. Three more weeks to go...