Friday, July 11, 2014

Well that was a long and entirely unintentional break.

I've thought about coming back several times, but didn't know what to write, or how to start, or how much to share. With no further ado, here goes:

Truth is, after the excitement of moving wore off, I fell into a funk. A deep, long-lasting funk in which I eventually realized that I absolutely abhor my job and that dissatisfaction was bleeding out and negatively impacting other areas of my life. It was a dark, dark period, and I feel bad for anyone who had to live with me during that time. I needed to make a change.

After looking around, it became clear that I would need to go back to school to get the kind of job I had expected to be able to get right out of college. As it turns out, a BA in French and English (emphasis Creative Writing, certificate in European Studies) is absolutely useless if you don't also have a teaching license. I know, right?

So after some reflection, I decided to pursue a Masters degree in French with the goal of teaching at the community college level. Because a) you don't have to deal with your students' parents; b) the students are adults and are responsible for themselves (or at least they know they are supposed to be); and c) you don't have the institutional pressure like at the university level. I have always loved French, and loved the summers I spent teaching French with Concordia Language Villages. Returning to the villages this spring to work a few of the Academic Year Programs (read: weekend school field trips) and the Adult Week reaffirmed my decision: this will be a great move for me.

I found a program, and to my surprise the application deadline had not yet passed (it was, however, just two weeks away) and they didn't require the GRE. I quickly got my application and references together, and was ultimately accepted and offered a Teaching Assistantship, which is basically free tuition + a stipend.

At this point, I have three weeks left of that awful job, and then a 10-day break before TA-training starts. And my 10-year high school reunion falls within that break, which I have feelings about that I'll save for another post. The closer I get to July 31 (my last day), the happier I get. There is a bottle of Pinot Noir set aside to celebrate.

What does this mean for the blog? I hope to blog somewhat regularly, but it won't be daily. I'm thinking either weekly or twice a week, but we'll see. I'm not sure how much time I'll have for knitting, or how demanding this grad school thing will be. I have done a better job of keeping Ravelry up-to-date, so you can always check on me there.