Should they have asked me?

Well, a few weeks ago, a former professor of mine asked me to come and talk to her senior seminar class and answer questions about graduate school. What is it like? What should I do to get in? What mistakes have you made that I shouldn't make? I don't know that I'm exactly the person they should have asked. I'm not going to give a really pretty picture of grad school or Texas Tech. Nevertheless, I'm going. And these are the things I'm kind of thinking about saying.

First, I'm going to tell them a little story that kind of encompasses my grad school experience. The story goes a little something like this: First, you should know that I live about a 25 minute walk from the English building, and I like walking, so I normally walk to class. I could ride the bus that comes right by my house, but I don't ride it much, and it took me a long time in the semester until I rode it for the first time. I don't ride it because I'm also kind of anxious about riding it. I just don't ever like the thought of being in an enclosed place with a lot of people. I don't know if I'm claustrophobic or not, but it makes me a bit anxious. So, I avoid buses. But one day, once upon a time, I woke up and it was raining pretty hard, and I had a presentation, so I was dressed nicely, and I really didn't want to get wet that day. So, I got on the bus. Here's the picture: I'm anxious, standing in a crowded bus, I've never ridden the bus before and don't know if it'll actually take me where I want to go, and lastly, the skinhead guy is driving, and the skinhead guy just has fun when people are standing on the bus, and he was jerking the bus around, and everytime he stops, I just keep thinking that I should get off this bus and walk even if it is raining outside. And so, that's my analogy for grad school. Grad school is like being on a bus that is cramped, that you don't know where is going, and that is being driven by a madman, and that you are holding onto for dear life. And of course, the tidy moral to the story is that eventually the bus shows up to the right place, and everything's fine. That's how my last semester ended up. I finished doing 18 hours, which is half of my degree, in five months and a week. And I looked back on that hell, and realized that it had been worthwhile.

Be warned. However difficult we all say it is, it's harder. It's a lot harder. And you will basically have no life except for grad school for the time your in it. It's really unbelievable. And it takes a lot of commitment to stay in it.

So, here's my advice about the decision to go to grad school and the school to choose.
1. Know that your willing to commit to it; know that your willing to get something out of it. (m.div and missionary story)
2. Take the application process seriously. (wasted money, and a lot of luckly breaks; GRE test also)
3. Choose a school that will stretch you in some way. (Tech v. ACU)

My advice for surviving grad school.
1. Do whatever your professor tells you to do. (Maybe Jazz story)
2. Prepare ahead of time.
3. Pace yourself.
4. Be humble.
5. Work on your faults.
6. Talk to your teachers.