I Shouldn’t Be in Grad School
October 8, 2008
I shouldn’t be in grad school.
Ok, technically I am in school. And I thought long and hard about my decision. The fact is, I never wanted to go. I wanted to dive into the workforce from undergrad. I wanted to head straight to New York City, into a corporate office, and work my way up to the top.
I have always been a hard-working, practical person. I was always the “planner” in my group of friends-organized and keenly aware of the people’s needs around me.
So I had a plan: New York. And no one gets in the way of a twenty something heading to New York.
Casually looking online during the summer of 2007, I found my current grad program. I couldn’t believe there was a curriculum that fit all of my needs for furthering my education- a hands-on program focusing on the global marketplace.
But I didn’t want to let it interfere with THE plan. New York. Big office. My vision of early twenty-something life.
But I couldn’t help it; I was drawn to the program web page every couple of days. I started to develop a passion for the program and for the opportunities, places and people I would meet. So, I worked really hard- I took the GREs twice, revised my resume countless times and spoke to every quasi professional about my options. Despite the attempts I made at convincing myself, I was still scared about straying from my plan.
Then I realized-
Life is not a plan.
You make your own opportunities.
Do what you want to do.
Under one rule: Live with passion.
So, I shouldn’t be in grad school- according to my plan. But it’s ok, because I am loving it. I am learning so much, branding myself, my work, making contacts and lifelong friendships from people all around the world in a city that I would have never explored.
Plans are only in pencil, it’s ok to erase.
-Carla
Entry Filed under: Graduate School, Personal Development, Professionalism. Tags: Graduate School, planning.
8 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
1.
Samantha Gutglass | October 8, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Of course you should be in grad school. If you weren’t, we would never have met .. and the thought of not knowing you brings a tear to my eye.
Even though I’ve only known you for a month, I can tell that you are going to be successful in whatever you choose to do. You’re hardworking, passionate, and devoted. I’m glad you realize that not everything can go exactly the way you plan. You’ll get to New York eventually, and when you do, you’ll miss me.
2.
carlablumenthal | October 8, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Sam-
Thanks for the comment!
When writing this, I was thinking more about how I learned recently to let life’s “plans” go and simply go with the flow. This amazing opportunity, grad school, came up- so I went with it. And I couldn’t be happier.
I think the key is to have a couple of plans. And then roll with it.
-Carla
3.
Susan | October 8, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Carla,
Your post struck me for its so many parallels to my own life — last year, I had very much the same dream: I would go to graduate school, learn about the publishing industry, and then forge a path for myself in Boston or New York. I applied to graduate school — ironically, Emerson, but unfortunately, I was declined acceptance into their publishing program. So, I’ve had to figure out a new path.
That dream is still there and I’m slowly working up to it, only there have been some small stumbling blocks in my plan. And I’m slowly beginning to realize that graduate school wasn’t a foolproof plan for me anyway. I think it’s an amazing opportunity and certainly will try again (Emerson is probably the only school I’ve found that has such fantastic grad programs, esp. in publishing), but looking back, I see that it just wasn’t the right time for me. Looking back, I see that it would have prevented an upcoming amazing opportunity.
So I think that your post is dead-on. I think at the point in my life where I applied, I wanted it so badly because I wanted some sort of direction. I wasn’t going with the flow, so to speak, but rather forcing things to happen that really wasn’t a good fit. It took me a long time to learn this lesson — I’m truly proud of you for taking your opportunity and making everything you can from it. You’re probably exactly where you should be.
Wishing you all the very best.
4.
carlablumenthal | October 8, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Susan-
Thanks so much for your ideas and support.
Grad school has been a great option for me, but like you said, it is not for everyone. There is so much opportunity out there- it just takes the right time and place.
It is hard to say “go with the flow” when the flow isn’t going your way. I’ve totally been there. But I think the more we can learn from the times that didn’t go our way and appreciate the times that have, the better person we will become.
Thank you for your support! Twenty-something life can be a ride, but I am sure you will end up where you need to be. Looking forward to hearing about it.
-Carla
5.
Rebecca | October 9, 2008 at 7:42 am
I had so many plans when I graduated college, and I had the perfect job to kick them all off. Of course life had plans of it’s own though. Of course! Enjoyed your post
6.
Jonathan Gowins | October 9, 2008 at 11:19 am
Carla, great post. You mentioned “branding yourself”. I think there is a lot behind that statement and not too many people are familiar with the concept. You should do on post on it!
7.
carlablumenthal | October 9, 2008 at 1:15 pm
@Rebecca Thanks for your support and comment!
@Jonathan Gowins- Thanks for the idea. There is so much I have learned from fellow bloggers, especially Dan Schawbel about personal branding. But perhaps a post is a good idea!
8. Charting the Detour &laqu&hellip | October 10, 2008 at 1:19 am
[...] Carla of Life Before Noon wrote about how she isn’t supposed to be in grad school, that it wasn’t a part of her life plan. I wholeheartedly agree in her sentiments- I’ve [...]