It seems I like to periodically put myself in the position of a wishbone, allowing myself to be pulled in two directions, letting the tension build and build until — SNAP!!! — I find myself in one place or the other. In 2000, I applied for doctoral study at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, while at the same time going house-hunting in Chapel Hill, NC, searching for the perfect old house for my friends and I to transform into a Rock N’ Roll crucible for avant-garde creativity. It wasn’t until I received a message on my answering machine from a Duquesne professor, congratulating me for being accepted to the program, that something snapped and I found myself signing the lease in Chapel Hill.
Then in 2004 I fell in love with a girl who received a fellowship to the University of Kentucky. Once again, I wanted to pursue two completely incompatible goals: 1) to live with her, and 2) to stay in Chapel Hill with my friends and bandmates. I tried to do both until — SNAP!!! — I found myself in Kentucky.
Yesterday, I received an email inviting me to interview for a graduate assistantship at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. I plan to make the trip, and while I hope to get into the program, I also really want to finish my certification as an addictions counselor, which requires that I stay here in Kentucky through the Fall. But, you see, the professor I want to work with at Mt. Holyoke can only take me on as a student if I come THIS Fall. So, yesterday at 3pm I met with my supervisor to outline the plan for taking the counseling certification exam in December, then five hours later I’m emailing a professor in Mt. Holyoke, setting up an interview to attend graduate school in September, 800 miles away!
I can feel the tension building… building…