Monday, January 10, 2005
Decisiveness
I came to some decisions over this past vacation. Last semester was pretty much generally miserable, and I don't want to do that again. There need to be some changes. So to start out with, I went out and got 12-13 inches of my hair cut off and donated it to Locks of Love.
The last time I cut my hair dramatically was 3.5 years ago. I had just returned from Chile, which had changed my attitude toward myself a lot, and I felt like I could do anything. It was an expression of independence and confidence. (Prior to that, I hadn't had it really cut since first grade. I donated 20 inches that time.) This time, it was a symbolic act meant to remind myself that I need to get myself together enough to really go through with all the other changes I decided I need to make.
The fact that I got my hair cut by the hair-genius John at Physios, and therefore ended up with a haircut that 1) makes me look fabulous and 2) not have to do anything but brush it quickly when I roll out of bed is really just a side-effect, not meant in any way to detract from the symbolism.
Back to the other changes, though. Perhaps the biggest decision I made is that I am not going to get my MA-Linguistics at MSU after all. This is mainly because most of the PhD programs I have been looking at would make me repeat some of the courses. It is also, however, because I am tired of being where I am. The linguistics department here doesn't really focus on much of interest to me, and I think at this point I'd rather just do it where I'm going to get my PhD (at some point) anyway. This means I have one less class to take this semester, which makes my life slightly more sane.
This also means I'll need to be in Michigan for one less year, so I'm exploring my options for next year. So far, my options are to stay in Michigan anyway and teach more at LCC, move back to NC and do something there, or go to China somewhere and teach. On the NC front, I applied to a position at NCSU for a study abroad advisor, but I'm betting they're filling it with someone they already had in mind, so I'm not holding my breath. Lee's looking for connections in China, but if anyone out there has reputable suggestions of places to teach over there, particularly in/near Shanghai, let me know.
Here's to a better, and final, semester at MSU.
I came to some decisions over this past vacation. Last semester was pretty much generally miserable, and I don't want to do that again. There need to be some changes. So to start out with, I went out and got 12-13 inches of my hair cut off and donated it to Locks of Love.
The last time I cut my hair dramatically was 3.5 years ago. I had just returned from Chile, which had changed my attitude toward myself a lot, and I felt like I could do anything. It was an expression of independence and confidence. (Prior to that, I hadn't had it really cut since first grade. I donated 20 inches that time.) This time, it was a symbolic act meant to remind myself that I need to get myself together enough to really go through with all the other changes I decided I need to make.
The fact that I got my hair cut by the hair-genius John at Physios, and therefore ended up with a haircut that 1) makes me look fabulous and 2) not have to do anything but brush it quickly when I roll out of bed is really just a side-effect, not meant in any way to detract from the symbolism.
Back to the other changes, though. Perhaps the biggest decision I made is that I am not going to get my MA-Linguistics at MSU after all. This is mainly because most of the PhD programs I have been looking at would make me repeat some of the courses. It is also, however, because I am tired of being where I am. The linguistics department here doesn't really focus on much of interest to me, and I think at this point I'd rather just do it where I'm going to get my PhD (at some point) anyway. This means I have one less class to take this semester, which makes my life slightly more sane.
This also means I'll need to be in Michigan for one less year, so I'm exploring my options for next year. So far, my options are to stay in Michigan anyway and teach more at LCC, move back to NC and do something there, or go to China somewhere and teach. On the NC front, I applied to a position at NCSU for a study abroad advisor, but I'm betting they're filling it with someone they already had in mind, so I'm not holding my breath. Lee's looking for connections in China, but if anyone out there has reputable suggestions of places to teach over there, particularly in/near Shanghai, let me know.
Here's to a better, and final, semester at MSU.
