A little throwback...

This picture pretty much sums up my sentiment of last semester entirely. I took this picture the day my GRE study book arrived from Amazon. As I've mentioned, we were all petrified of not getting into graduate school, and for some of the people in our program, that nightmare unfortunately became a reality. 

"I'll order a GRE study book early." "I'll spend a little bit of time everyday studying for the GRE." "I'll be prepared." "I won't wait until the last minute to cram for the test." "I won't wait until the last minute to TAKE the test." Little did I know, waiting until the last semester before applications were do WAS waiting until the last second. Silly, silly Haley. All of these things I told myself at the beginning of the semester, but the followthrough was lacking because I can assure you…THAT didn't happen. One of my biggest worries was paying for the darn thing. It is one expensive test. I've been able to pay for most everything on my own through my scholarships, grants, and student loans, but a large expense like that is not easy to just drop nearly $300 on when you're a college student. That isn't to say that my mom didn't help me because she's definitely bailed me out plenty of times, but it wasn't something she was able to do all of the time because she is a single mother of three children and I truly respect that.

Needless to say, I was able to pay for it in the end and signed up for it pretty close to the date I needed in order to get my scores back and sent by my graduate schools' deadlines as possible. Stressful, right? I looked at the book every once in a blue moon, and I attended a workshop one Sunday for a couple hours that was put on by the Multicultural Center (which by the way is fabulous on our campus). About a week before my testing date, my anxiety multiplied tenfold. When they say "hindsight is 20/20," they aren't lying! Oh how I wished I had spent the entire semester studying instead of waiting until the last minute. Not only the entire semester, but perhaps the last couple years! 

I decided to not get bogged down in the "could have, should have, would have" of the situation and make the most out of what time I had left. I flew through that book, highlighting everything I thought I possibly could need to know. I took practice test after practice test, and come test day I was exhausted, and barely had any stamina left to even take the test. I felt like I knew nothing of what would be on there. I did a lot of praying that last week before the test to say the least. I should mention that timed, standardized tests aren't my strong suit. In fact, I don't think they are hardly anyone's strong suit. 

All of this to say that if you're reading this, and your schools may require a GRE score or you're planning on taking it…make sure you do the exact opposite of what I did. ;)

Love,

Haley

Springfield, Here I Come!

It's funny how things work out…am-I-right?

I am a strong believer in fate/destiny/what's meant to happen will always find a way, but I was extremely validated in that belief last week. I applied to four different graduate schools, and we began hearing back from them at the middle of last month. We all anxiously anticipated hearing good news from our "choice" school, but secretly hoped that we could get into even just one.

I received my first letter in the mail. I was wait listed. I had a mix of emotions upon this news. Part of me was excited because, well, it wasn't a rejection. However, part of me was disappointed because it wasn't an acceptance either. I just told myself to calm down because I still had 3 more schools to hear from, and some people DID get rejected from there. After all, I still at least had a chance of getting in.

The next school I heard from was an acceptance! I was so excited!!! With this news, I knew that I would at least be going to graduate school, but it wasn't the school I was secretly hoping for. I had heard great things about the program, mind you, but it just wasn't where my heart was pulling me.

I got my next letter. My undergraduate alma mater had accepted me. This was my most exciting news yet because for the past few years, our instructors and professors had done nothing short of scare us to death about not getting in at their school, much less getting in anywhere else. My advisor even told me to not get my hopes set on getting into a "big" school (which I took to mean a "good" school). He also encouraged me to apply at a school no one had even heard of. Ha. No thanks.

My last letter, and the highest ranked school of my choices, finally reached me. I was, again, placed on an "alternative list." Bummer.

I decided to go ahead and accept the offer at the U of A because it was the best option I had from the schools I'd gotten accepted to, and I also interviewed for a position as a graduate assistant because I knew I was about to be out a LOT of money. You should know, I interviewed for one of only two positions being offered to over 20 applicants. I knew that the odds weren't in my favor, but I decided to give it a try and put it in God's hands.

About a week later, I received the news that I had not gotten the assistantship. I was disappointed to say the least. All I could think was, "student loan debt, here I come!" The very next day I got an email from my top pick, asking me if I wanted to remain on their wait list in the event that a spot should come open, and that she could let me know by the end of the day. Well, of course I did! Later that afternoon, I was offered a spot in their program. Ecstatic doesn't even begin to describe!!! Immediately, I felt a wave of heat rush over my body, and I swear my body temperature went up about 10 degrees in a matter of seconds.

I immediately started calling all of my "people," telling them the good news and asking them what in the world I should do. I knew that ultimately it was my decision, but I still needed advice because that's just how I am. Everyone was very encouraging, which was exactly what I needed. I thought about it for about 15 minutes, and promptly emailed the department head back to accept the position. If you know me at all, you know that's probably one of the fastest decisions I've ever made in my life, a life changing one at that. It takes me about that long to decide what kind of bread I'm going to buy at the store.

All of this is to say, that I will proudly begin my graduate studies this June at Missouri State University. I'm excited to see what the future holds, and I appreciate the support from my family and friends more than I can put into words.

Let the apartment hunt begin!

Haley

My Journey toward Applying to Graduate School: Part I

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times...I am the worst blogger EVER! Which is crazy because I love to read blogs and am constantly on them whenever I'm not on Facebook ;) Maybe it's the fact that I have commitment issues...who knows. I digress. What I really want to post about starting today is my journey toward applying to graduate school. Oh my goodness! Where to start.

When I first began college, I had absolutely no interest in going to graduate school. My thought process was, "I've already been in school my entire life, why on Earth would I want to add an additional 2 years on to that?" I wanted to get in and out in four years and be done. Well, as we all know very well, plans change. I went into college wanting to become a doctor originally, but I quickly changed my mind about that (see above: "in and out in four years"). I never identified fully with wanting to become a doctor, and I it felt more like, "I need something to say when people ask me what I want to be." It was also a huge financial burden and time commitment that wasn't something to haphazardly jump into. It wasn't long before I changed my major. Enter: my first cultural anthropology class. 

I thought anthropology was the coolest subject in the world. What's not to love about studying different people and cultures. I had always considered myself an open-minded person, and I thought, "I could totally do this." And besides, you always hear about how people just suddenly KNOW what they want to be after being in college for awhile. They take that magical class, and the sky opens up and the sun rays shine down with a hallelujah chorus, and they know their future. I thought that this was that moment for me. Little did I know, I was wrong.

Fast forward two years to the summer in between my sophomore and junior years. I really loved anthropology, and I thought it was a cool thing to study, but I didn't feel as though it was what I wanted to commit my whole life to. Granted, I had always had an internal conflict with my decision to even change my major to Anthropology, and there was always my mom, the nurse, there to say, "What are you going to do with that?" She had always preached the "Job Security" sermon, which I realize is important. I began to feel like I needed to really dig deep and find out what makes me happy, and I started realizing that becoming an Anthropologist wasn't that. 

Meanwhile, I was working my second summer with a group of at-risk youth with behavior issues. I've always loved being around kids, and I looked up to my therapist coworkers. I began to consider becoming a therapist because I really loved these kids, and seeing them make improvements and making a difference in their lives (even if I was just the summer help at the time) was so special to me.

So...I dug deeper, I thought about my future constantly and what I could do for the rest of my life. As I've mentioned, I have commitment issues. Add in the fact that I was spending thousands of dollars a semester, and I STILL didn't know what I wanted to be, and I was running out of time. I started asking people who know me, "what can you see me doing?" and "what should I be when I grow up?" It's almost as if I wanted someone to decide for me because this was a HUGE decision.

I continued researching different career paths: social worker/therapist, businesswoman, teacher, you name it. I came across the College of Education and Health Professions website for my university, and saw a Communication Disorders degree. Now that sounded interesting. I began researching more into it. I had heard of Speech Therapists, but it wasn't something I had ever considered for myself; however, the more I read about it, the more intrigued I became with the profession. BUT, it required a Masters degree (grad school, blech!), and that did not fit into my "plan." 

I've always very much been a planner. I dislike making last minute decisions, and if I wanted to pursue a degree in Communication Disorders and later Speech-Language Pathology, I would have had to decide like, NOW, if I still wanted to graduate with my Bachelors within the 4 year time frame. I emailed the adviser for Communication Disorders and set up a meeting with him. At the very least, I wanted to learn more about the profession. Well, by the time I left his office, I had a new major and a new lease on life. I had made a semi-spontaneous decision, and it felt GOOD. 

August rolled around and I anticipated starting my new classes. I was excited to see what was in store. I told myself that if I didn't like it, I could always just change my major AGAIN and stay in school a little bit longer. Needless to say, I fell in love with the subject and everything it had to offer. I FINALLY got my TAH-DAH moment when I was in my phonetics class. I was fascinated by all of the new things I was learning in all of my classes, and wanted to learn as much as possible in the two years I had left. Studying no longer seemed like a chore because I WANTED to know this information.

I know that many people have the presumption that speech-language pathologists(SLPs) sit with 4 year olds coming in and out of their office all day correcting their substitution of the "w" sound for the "r" sound. I even sort of thought that was what they did too until I got into my classes. In reality, there is so much more that SLPs do. Swallowing disorders, fluency disorders, articulation disorders, language disorders, etc. The list goes on. I'll admit that when I went into the program, I didn't even know there was a difference between speech and language. But boy do I know now!

I am so happy to have found the thing that I am passionate about in life, and to pursue it wholeheartedly. 

If you made it to the end of this post, thank you for reading!

Love,

Haley

It's been awhile..

It's official. I am the absolute WORST blogger in the history of bloggers. This little "project" I gave myself isn't quite working out how I wanted it to. I'm supposed to be documenting my college years. Ha! I've done a great job of that so far it seems. 

I do want to take a moment, and talk about losing my grandfather on August 19, the day after I moved back to college. He had had surgery on his neck and there were some complications and his health continued to decline steadily afterward. It was extremely hard on me because I spent a very large part of my childhood with that particular set of grandparents, and I was very close with my grandpa. He always told me I was his favorite ;) I think he really meant it, too! He was one of the sweetest people I know, and he loved everyone until it hurt. I love him so very much, and I know he will be an guardian angel to me and the rest of my family. It's just very hard to go through this, but each day I get a little stronger! I LOVE YOU GRANDPA! May he forever rest in peace.

Here is one of the only pictures I have with my grandpa. 

On a TOTALLY different note, today is the first game of the season. WPS! I can't wait to cheer on our Razorbacks with some of my favorite people!! Other than that, I plan on having a pretty lazy weekend. This past week wiped me out. I'm going to drive home tomorrow and spend the rest of Labor Day weekend with my family, so that should be fun. I need to catch up on some homework, too. :-/ Uh oh.

~Haley

Hello there

It seems as though life is getting a little hectic as this semester comes to an end. Projects, tests, recitals, cello juries, and so on and so forth. I don't have much to say, but I wanted to at least give an update. 4 weeks until finals! Woo, then Summer time! Although I'll be spending most of mine working, I am very happy that it is coming. I've pretty much been doing the same ole...reading other blogs religiously and never keeping up with my own. ;) When I think of something actually interesting to say, I'll come back. Adios.