Thursday, June 2, 2011

You are about to embark on a journey...



It’s amazing how in just a few days you can grasp clarity, re-centre, and find direction in life. A few weeks ago I thought I had it all figured out: I would graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (English Major) in November of this year, have a long break and then begin a two-year Masters in Publishing. Then I got to thinking. Do I want to be in Melbourne for another two years? Do Karl and I want to begin a life here after I graduate? Is the Australian publishing industry the one I want to be involved in? If I pass on doing honours next year will I regret it later? And the answers to these began to reveal themselves over the last few days beginning with a letter reminding me to think about participating in honours next year. I then logged onto the Monash University website and came across some study abroad scholarships available only to post-graduate students…who have an honours degree. Now, Karl and I have always discussed living in Europe and obtaining a scholarship to study at a European university would make it a lot easier for us to make a life there. Most scholarships provide enough money for living expenses for a year and some pay for flights to the country you wish to study in. That would make an international relocation much easier for the both of us and much less stressful.

A long discussion last night over Malteasers and coffee tied it all up. I will do honours next year if I am offered a place and at the end of 2012 I will apply for scholarships to study publishing (or English in general) at Oxford, Cambridge and University College London. I’m also considering applying to English speaking universities in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden and France but Karl and I will have to brush up the ol’ language skills before we decide on any of those options.

So there you have it. At the start of this week I had a completely different notion of what life would be like for us over the next few years. But then things change. I guess that’s life though. We’ll be travelling a different route, a more unstable and confusing one but it’s the challenges that shape us and make us who we are. Honours was not the route I was going to or even wanted to take. I can think of no worse way to spend a year but, unfortunately for me, it will yield the most benefits and options for after I graduate. It will be a challenge and it will most likely, and most importantly, see Karl and I breaking out of this tiny country that we feel so ill-suited to and exploring this great, green earth. And to us, that is what it’s all about.

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