Joy Goes To Grad School

Last week I began the journey to grad school. I just love having 18 things on my plate, so it makes sense that in a middle of a job hunt, graduation time, and a study abroad trip that I would commit to writing (and rewriting) a personal statement, getting reccs from overseas, and studying for the GRE. It's amazing that I have the desire to continue my higher education, as my Facebook friends are always lamenting about their workload with the assistance of Buzzfeed articles like these.  Nevertheless, I am ecstatic about documenting this journey. My hope is that this segment will allow me to receive and provide encouragement for others. I also think it will be cool, whether I am accepted or not, to look back at this time and see where ambition and hard work got me. Enjoy!

Why Grad School?

When I was a senior in high school, I felt that college was the natural next step. Everybody was doing it, it was positive, a career awaited me upon graduation....yada yada yada. Other than that, I didn't have a real reason for going. I knew that I wanted to be a medical doctor, but I didn't have any specific things that I wanted to accomplish in college. To me, college was a means to an end. I didn't really stress about where I should have continued my education as much as I should. My apathy was apparent when, by first semester's end, I was ready to switch majors and schools! When I was applying to undergrad, I was not even considering becoming an educator. This explains why I didn't apply to schools that had outstanding teacher preparation programs. Realizing that I wanted to be a teacher and a community leader made me realize that I was at the wrong school for my goals. I was still seeing undergrad as a means to an end, and not an experience in and of itself. I didn't have academic goals, like making honor societies, or social goals, like being a leader of a club. I was simply running towards graduation. After doing some research, I decided to transfer to Georgia State University, which is my favorite place to be. I must admit that playing "catch up" affected my social life at the school, but at the time I was not worried simply because I was just trying to graduate with employment. While I did have fun serving as a senator in SGA and I am loving my travel abroad experience, I did not take advantage of all of the academic or social opportunities afforded to me. Perhaps a big part of that is because I never left the city of Atlanta. Going back to your room that you've slept in every night since you were 6 doesn't necessarily put you in a collegiate mood!

While it sounds like I have a lot of regrets about undergrad, I really only have one. I should have experienced GSU instead of passively attending classes every day. I am counting on learning from my mistakes in graduate school. I definitely have post-graduate goals that include employment and opportunities to travel, but I also have goals for my time in graduate school. I don't want to make this too lengthy, so I'll make a list of some things I'd like to do to make the most out of my graduate school experience:

1. Have my writing published in an academic journal.
2. Join an academic honors society.
3. Be consistently involved in a volunteer club.
4. Attend football and basketball games. I love my GSU basketball team, but I admittedly did not have a lot of school spirit during undergrad. I hope to find an appreciation for my school through athletics.
5. Seek out mentors who can aid in my growth, academically, spiritually, and otherwise. In turn, become a mentor for others.
6. Study abroad with other students.
7. MOVE TO A DIFFERENT CITY-  Nashville, here I come!

You see how these goals involve actual participation in my program? I can't accomplish any of these things by simply attending class and turning in assignments. I cannot wait to redeem myself from my lackluster undergrad experience and truly be assertive about my goals.

Next Sunday I will document how I'm studying for the GRE in preparation for grad school. Stay tuned.

Diamond Joy Luster