I have been spending FAR too much time inside. I wake up I go to my graduate assistantship position, come home, READ, go to class, READ OR go to my graduate assistantship position, race to work at Eden Gourmet, come home, READ READ READ. I’ve been doing an okay job at fitting the rec center in here and there. I had all of my reading done for this week and a head start on next week so I decided that today I would not set an alarm (bad idea) and I would go do something to get out of my wallowing homesick misery.
Oops. I slept in until 11:30. It doesn’t matter WHAT time I go to bed my body has no internal alarm clock whatsoever. I got up and had a bowl of Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch, my favorite as you all know. There are two sizeable state parks near South Orange so I thought I might go for a hike and check out South Mountain Reservation. I’m very glad I did because it is a beauuuuuutiful park with a ton of trails. There is also a waterfall at the end of a beautiful babbling little stream. I hiked the forest in and the stream back out, it is currently my favorite place here (I haven’t really BEEN anywhere else).
Hiking and getting some sun was great, though it didn’t help clear my mind as much as I had hoped. I guess I haven’t stated that I was granted a graduate assistantship at SHU. This is an AMAZING thing I’ve been fighting very hard to get. I don’t even know how many I applied for and was finally able to land one in the Dean of Arts and Sciences Office. Tons of students apply for these and a blessed few get them. This means that I work for the university 20 hours a week and get free tuition and a stipend besides. I’ll admit it, I cried a little on the phone when I told my sister because I feel like my hard work is finally paying off. I’m sure stress and being tired were a factor in my blubbering also. Maybe this blog is too emotional for you? I apologize, I’m just so relieved that I won’t be coming out of school drowning in debt that I’ll never be able to pay off. Like my mom says, “Good things come to good people.” At least, I think she was referring to me.
During the week or two before/after coming out to school I wondered if I was making the right choice. Leaving my family and an at least decent paying job to go to nowhere, with no job, to put myself more than $45,000 in debt didn’t seem reasonable. BUT, I got the assistantship, good living arrangements, I enjoy my classes immensely (more than normal students do) AND my family has been very supportive. It will be O.K. Other people often say things better than I do, so in the words of yet ANOTHER wise woman, “Remember, we all have good days and also bad days, but thank goodness everything works out in the end.” -Myrtle Pickett
Pamela Schwartz 
September 7th, 2010 at 5:32 am
And that's exactly right. Love you!
September 13th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Congrats! I'm so happy for you, and am definitely telling my parents that one…good things happen to good people who want to work in museums!