For the record, I hate thinking of blog titles.

So I’ve decided to take on the major decision of going back to school to pursue a graduate’s degree in secondary education. Why? Because taking care of an infant just isn’t enough work on its’ own, of course!

In all seriousness, this was not an easy decision for me at all. I hemmed and hawed, and at any moment, I think about the cost and the time and aside from the fact that I have to actually get accepted, the whole idea is just a little terrifying to me.

Of course, just this past year, our state has done away with the HOPE Teacher program, that allows the HOPE Scholarship for future educators of our state. Who knows when and if it’ll be reinstated, but I certainly hope so. I had the HOPE Scholarship for undergrad for my entire four years, and I was *extremely lucky* to have my parents help me with the rest of my living expenses as long as I maintained my scholarship. So, this brand new world of FAFSA and student loans and the idea of potentially having to pay $15,000 out of pocket for a second degree is absolutely terrifying to me.

Especially on one income. I mean, I’m not contributing, here. If anything, I’m gonna be a freaking money vacuum! Between me and the little guy, we’re gonna suck poor Oscar dry for the next two and a half years. But I am also one of the luckiest ladies alive, because he’s supportive of the drain since I’m pursuing something that I’m pretty passionate about. Teaching high school English is something that I’ve gone back and forth with since I graduated from high school myself. (Talk about a long and arduous decision.) Evidence? See this post and this post. *Sigh.* The crappiest part is that because of my timing with the decision and because the program I want to graduate from doesn’t accept fall entrants, I won’t even be able to start my classes until January of next year. 🙁 It does, however, give me plenty of time to figure out my rec letters and to take the GRE (ugh) and get all my materials together.

Yesterday I was watching Oprah (Yes, I’ve taken to watching the final season, since it’s the final season and all), the episode was all about being truly happy. She had author Dan Buettner on, and according to new(?) research, it’s better to go for for “bliss, not bucks” in the job market. Well I suppose that’s good news for me, since everyone knows teachers are vastly overworked and underpaid. He said a whole bunch of other stuff that resonated with me (People who commute have to make an extra $40,000 a YEAR to make an hour-plus commute worth it (!!!). This pretty much makes the entire commuter city of Atlanta totally screwed.)

This decision all boils down to the fact that I really want the opportunity to instill the same kind of appreciation and love of literature and the English language (even though I’ll be the first to admit I butcher it on a daily basis) that my 11th and 12th grade teachers did for me.

And this time, I will not flake.