Life as a Graduate student: The Next Era

Well, I'm moving again. I know, some of you are wondering when this girl is ever going to settle down. If that ever happens, it will probably be far off in the very distant future, so don't start getting your hopes up now! There are too many interesting things to see and experience in this world to stay in one place. In fact, I have a fear of settling down. It's like when I was a kid and I was afraid of missing out on the fun when it was my bedtime and the adults were still awake. If I stay in one place and have that frightening combination of a mortgage payment, a three car garage, and a trampoline, I'll be missing out on so many opportunities that I could experience without the obligation of a permanent home. Like moving to another part of the country to go to the grad school program of my dreams!

In case you haven't heard, I got accepted into Smith College School for Social Work. I will be moving to Northampton, Massachusetts at the end of May to begin my first term of classes. The program works on a block schedule, so I will take classes in the summer and will be working at my field placements in different parts of the country (or possibly outside of the U.S.) during the other 8-9 months of the year. My first year field placement assignment is in the Boston area, so I will be moving a short distance again in August. The program has a clinical focus, which means 'counseling' in the social work profession. It is one of the top graduate social work programs in the U.S. and is very unique in its structure and amount of time spent in field practice. So now begins another academic era of my life, wish me luck!


A street in Northampton, MA