North Carolina Bound

Back when I defended my project for the Specialist degree I got from UGA, one of my professors said, "If only you had a PhD..."

That was during my first year at a job I felt very lucky to have, so I tucked the compliment away and didn't give it much further thought.

Last year, back in Athens for a conference, I started talking to my friends at UGA again, and started thinking a little more seriously about a PhD.

First I "just" studied to take the GRE again because my first GRE score had expired. Then I just applied to a few library PhD programs to see what would happen.

As I awaited the results of these applications (which was a long wait, because I applied as early as possible) I suffered some angst over leaving Georgia (all the programs were out of state) and over leaving my job. But I would like to think that even before actually hearing back I had started to gain a sense of peace about the whole thing.

This is something I need to do.

I am doing too many things right now. Working, volunteering for various storytelling organizations, doing a little actual storytelling, being a momma... Being a librarian is important to me, but storytelling is, too. And I need storytelling to be more a part of my professional life so that I'm not working so hard to do both. My research is going to be in storytelling. There will be significant overlap.

And this storytelling research, this is something I feel drawn to do. It is something I would probably end up doing, PhD or no. But it sure would be nice to get a little more training in scholarly research before trying to do it.

And, I need to be myself. I was so very honest in my statement of purpose about what I want to do. I knew that my research was maybe a little weird. But I knew it was that or nothing. Take me as I am, or leave me. I haven't been able to be myself recently, which is as much my fault for not taking a chance on being myself as anything else. I'm not doing that anymore.

I still haven't heard back from all the schools I applied to. Graduate deadlines are later than undergrad. But I have heard back from my first choice: UNC. I will be starting this fall, weird research interest and all.

John and the kids gave me "congratulations" cards when I found out. I should be giving them cards for going along with this. They are ever patient and supportive and I couldn't do what I do without them. Of course, I do hope that my having a PhD will eventually be beneficial to my whole family, but we're not there yet.

Many family and friends have expressed mixed happiness and sadness about our impending move to North Carolina. We feel it, too. But listen, we'll be back.

And then what? Well, I'll be a professor. And I'll teach classes on the digital, written, and spoken word.

Or something like that.