The Eternal Student

I refuse to change my colors. Unlike Catherine who changes her blog’s design just because I have decided where to go to grad school, I refuse to do it. What does that mean? Catherine changed her blog’s colors to Orange and Black, because we have decided to go to OSU! I however, am made of more solid stuff, and am going to keep my blog exactly as it is…Orange and Black… without changing anything! So there!

Seriously, we haven’t yet told Oklahoma State that we for sure are going there, but we’ve pretty much decided. We’re waiting for a letter from them explaining some “details”, and then we’ll probably tell them yes for certain (however John will probably read this first thing tomorrow morning on my blog so he’ll know right away). To set the record straight, Catherine and I thought and talked about OSU, but really wanted to go to Utah State for one glaring reason; Family. However, with the educational and financial differences between the two, Oklahoma State is just too good to pass up. So, I guess it’s official (almost): I’m going to OSU! Go Pistol Pete!

P.S. Info on my awesome trip to Spain coming soon. I had to blog about OSU first!

My wife has informed me that I suck at blogging. Why? She says that I don’t write the important stuff on my blog until about a week after it happens. Friday, Utah State emailed me and let me know that they have accepted me into their graduate program. Yeah for me! For those of you keeping track, that means two if the three schools I applied to have accepted me so far (Oklahoma State and Utah State). I’m still waiting to hear from BYU. They must be on Mormon Standard Time or something.

The scary thing is that Utah State mentioned letting them know by March 4th! That’s Tuesday! The way the email sounded was that if I know for sure then I should tell them so they can start looking at scholarships, but I need to call them and ask. It kind of freaked me out!

Now I guess I can put my house up for s ale. I was waiting until March 15th, or until I had two acceptance letters (hard to explain the logic there on a blog). However, now I have to choose where I want to go. That may sound simple, but believe you me it’s not! I’m about to pull a Rory Gilmore (I blame Catherine for that fact that I can use that line) and do a pros and cons list. What will I ever do if BYU accepts me as well! There are so many things each of the schools offer, it makes the decision really hard for me. Maybe Monday I’ll write the pros and cons list.

Ok, so I’m feeling a little guilty about the lack of blogging, though I’m not sure anyone but myself and Catherine are really reading this. The point is, it’s been 2 weeks since I last posted, and I’ve actually had some things to write about. First off, I got my first (hopefully of 3) acceptance letters to grad school at Oklahoma State! I’m super excited about this and am looking to fly out there and check out the campus. Now I just have to wait and see if I get accepting anywhere else, and then decide where I’m going to pack my family to for the next 4-6 years.

Honestly, I have no idea what I want there. Utah State and BYU have very good programs in Instructional Technology, and are right near family (I even have two brothers and Catherine’s brother living in Provo). Oklahoma State also has a good growing program, and most important to me, my mentor, Dr. Curry. However, it is in Oklahoma, and that is really far from both of our families.

My other dilemma is whether I am really going to uproot my family and go back to school for an extended period of time, when I already have a job that I love! Don’t get me wrong, I really do want to go back for my PhD, I love Instructional Technology, and Catherine is also excited. It’s just scary, and I want a voice in the back of my head to tell me that it’s worth it. Now, just to be clear, this has nothing to do with John’s post, “How to Get an Instructional Design Education Without Paying Tuition“. Really, it doesn’t. I just love my current job and am scared about what life will bring if I leave it (especially supporting my family). Any comments? Can someone out there squash my fears?