No No NaNo

[blairmacg]

I will not spend November writing what I wish to write, alas.  Instead, I'll be finishing the last full term of classes.  NaNo would be a wonderful distraction.  But it's taken me twenty-three years to finish a four-year degree, the last thing I need is another distraction.

So.  Four weeks to the end of the term.  Twelve weeks off while Powers That Be evaluate my experiential learning portfolio.  If all my petitions are approved, then I take the ten-week capstone course.  And then DONE.

Glad as I am to see that end in sight, I will always regret a bit that I didn't get a law degree.  Trouble is, what I want to do with a law degree is pro bono work, and taking on that much debt to work for free just seems an unwise choice at this point in life.  I'd like the knowledge, but not the career commitment I'd have to make.

Anyway.  I guess January will be MyNoWriMo.  Doesn't mean I won't be plugging away on revisions in the meantime.  I just can't give it my full devotion right now.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

January is an excellent time--new year, clean slate, holidays behind one.

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

Yep. It also tends to be a slow on other work fronts, so I'm hoping it'll hold true this year. (December is slower for work--thank goodness!--but Dev and I will be taking a trip between his birthday and Christmas.)

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Oy-- my husband just did this last May (and rolled straight into a masters program right after)-- ten years, seven schools, and then he finally just buckled down and did things, and went from getting an Associates to getting a Bachelors in one year. Crazy. I'm told the high of actually being done lasts a nice long time. :)

What are you working towards?

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

I understand his journey! I started and stopped many times. About a year and a half ago, I finally had the right combination of financial aid and available time.

I'm finishing up a Bachelors in Health, emphasis on nutrition and wellness. For a little while, I considered going on to a Masters in Social Work but, really, I'm fairly sick of classes. I've always loved research and learning, but never been one to enjoy school.

[thanate.livejournal.com]

I've actually had a similar conversation with my husband a lot, the gist of which is that while there's definitely a place for school as a means to an end (need that degree for work stuff, etc) there's a huge difference between classes you feel you have to take, and ones you're taking because you want the knowledge you're getting out of them. I know he got very caught up in the "just get the prerequisites out of the way" mindset, and that's an excellent way to hate school, particularly when the instructors are very much targeting towards people who are at a different level of whatever than you are. (As a comp sci major who'd been working in the field for about ten years, he saw a lot of that.)

I can entirely see where you'd be burnt out on the school thing at this point, but if you do consider more of it, keep in mind that grad school for something you actively want to do may be a completely different ballgame. (and either way-- yay you for having the end in sight!)

[end possibly-coherent ramble]

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

It was completely coherent. :)

Like your husband, I'm finishing a degree in the field I've worked in for years, and the annoyance factor can be quite high. I've actually *taught* much of the class material in seminar settings. But I need the degree because I anticipate new licensing requirements to hit my field (wellness and nutrition) within the next three to five years. I've seen qualified folks be pushed out their chosen field by new laws before, and I'd rather not have it happen to me.

Maybe grad school will look more attractive in another year or so. Or maybe I'll be forced to do it in order to keep my career. Trouble is, the accredited programs are based on the Western medical model (nutrition-by-number coupled with distrust of alternative therapies). Essentially, I'd be getting a degree in something I don't do so I could keep doing what I actually do.

(Was that coherent?)

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Fair enough-- sounds like you'd still be in the boat of having to do school for the sake of the degree rather than learning stuff you want to learn, so my point about not hating it too much doesn't apply.

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

I'm actually hoping it *will* look attractive. It would be nice to like it! :-)