The pandemic saga - pt.2

**Read part 1 here.

As I was brainstorming ways that I could update my pandemic saga, I realized it has now morphed out of a pandemic saga and into just the current happenings in my life.

In the ending months of 2020, I was feeling discouraged. Nothing was happening on the job front no matter how many jobs I applied for, connections I made, and interviews I went on. I took some time to really think about what I wanted my next move to be. Was I going to keep feeling beat down by the job market or was I going to do something else? This is when I seriously started thinking about graduate school. I knew it was something that I wanted to do but had not put much more thought into it than that. Was now the right time?

During the summer months of 2020, I seriously investigated my options and the programs in my area. I did my research on application requirements and timelines. But, by the end the summer all I wanted was to get a job. So, I crumpled up all that research and threw it in the trash (yes, I did do some of my research with a pen and paper). Fast forward a couple months later, I decided I needed to do something different. I was done looking for a job. I could not wait around for my life to progress, I needed to do it myself. I found the research that I had not thrown away and decided to dive in.

Go UD!

I was officially on the path to grad school! I studied for the GRE, wrote my personal statement, asked for letters of recommendations, and applied to the only school I wanted to go to. This was the University of Dayton (UD). Their M.A. in Communication was the only program I was interested in. I looked at other schools but none of them offered what I was looking for. But, UD did. And luckily for me, it's only 20 minutes away!

As this all happened in November and December of 2020, I did not think I would be able to start the program until the summer semester. However, after a tip from my dad I looked into the possibility of just taking one or two class as a non-student. Turns out this is a real thing. Who knew?! So, I applied to the university, was accepted, registered for classes, and started classes all within the same week. It was wild.

Now, I finished my first semester and am enjoying every second. I believe that I did not get all the jobs I applied for because I was meant to be in this program at this time.

I am now officially a full-fledged student at the University of Dayton.

I plan on posting at the end of everything semester with and overview of how it all went. Stay tuned for that update soon.

It's posted! See the update here