stevie.

As some of you know, I’m working on an application to the Ph.D program in School Psychology here at Berkeley. (*fingers crossed*)

However, I just came across this tumblr:

I am a Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of Illinois. I’m currently writing a dissertation about the role of bookmobiles in designing, building, and contesting communities in the United States since turn of the twentieth century.

Check here for images, videos, links, and random thoughts about information on the move.

How my heart leapt at the phrase “contesting communities”! I LOVE this stuff. I have to remember to think about space and culture, about seeing patterns and breaking them, even as a school psychologist.

When I decided not to apply to grad school right away, I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose academic momentum. Consequently, I am always asking myself what I want to do in grad school, where I want to go, and how I want to get there. These thoughts run continuously in the back of my mind, and try as I might to compartmentalize them, they still take some of my brain’s resources to maintain.

Right now, I’m thinking that I should find a way to shut that off, or at least put it to sleep. The point of grad school should be to satisfy curiosities and accomplish new things. I have plenty of opportunity to do those things where I am now. I should be using the opportunity I have, not looking for one I’m not sure I want. 

To maintain academic momentum, I need to continue asking questions and trying solutions, not to continue collecting degrees. When my curiosity outgrows my environment, I can start to look for something new.