A new journey in an unexpected direction

I have generally been failing at keeping this blog upto date but in general life hasn't seemed that interesting. In the last couple of weeks however, a couple of really good things have happened.

I applied for Master's programs back in January. The process seemed never ended and some of the paperwork was ridiculous in length but I finally got four applications done and on their way. Then it was the waiting game. I had gotten the impression that I should hear back from all the schools by the end of March. At the beginning of the month I got an email from Queen's to let me know I had not been accepted. I didn't even rate an actual letter. This was actually my 4th choice school since I found out the faculty member I wanted to work with was actually going to be on Sabbatical for the majority the time I would be there, so it wasn't the end of the world. Even though I didn't even really want to go there, not getting in had an impact on my confidence. "If I can't even get into my fourth choice school, how am I supposed to get into my first choice?" Most days I was optimistic but others it was a bit of a battle to ignore those doubts.

In Janurary and February I had done some short term work for WV in Mississauga while a coworker was recovering from surgery. While I was there another team approached me with the possibility of doing some work for them. I very enthusiastically said I was interested in the work but it took months to get everything approved and the paperwork signed. Finally I started back at WV at the end of April, this time with the humanitarian and emergencies department. I am loving being back at work, although it is a part time and short term contract. So far I've been working 3-4 days a week but as I catch up on everything that needs to be done it'll gradually go down to 2 days a week. A lot of the work so far has been tacking budgets and funding which involves a lot of staring at spreadsheets and building spreadsheets which are not my favourite activities (Excel is not my friend) but I'm learning a lot and enjoying my coworkers and the general energy of being back.

I had been getting a little frustrated through the months of march and april as discussions about my job were moving at a snails pace and I still hadn't heard from three of my schools. Finally I got an acceptance letter from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, one of my first choice schools. Then, on the same day that my job at WV was confirmed and was set to start the next day, I got a phone call from York to let me know I has also been accepted there. Through out the application process and in the time since my actual first choice had changed so many times I wasn't even sure anymore which program I wanted to go to the most. St Mary's and York were essentially tied for first choice and now I had to choose between them.

It was surprising easy to make the decision. I had the deadline of today to make the decision and I looked a lot at the faculty, the program, the finances and talked to some of my old professors and my coworkers. In the end though, there wasn't really much debate in my mind and I found myself instinctually leaning one way more than the other.

I was surprised at the direction though. I thought I wanted to do something different - try going to a larger, more widely known school. I was a little tired of explaining about where I had gone for my undergrad since CMU is such a small and unknown school. While I was waiting for word from the schools I honestly thought that if I got into York it would be a no-brainer. I would go there. I even told that to several of my friends. Imagine my surprise when I noticed myself defending SMU as a good choice in conversation with friends and coworkers. The cons involved in going to York seemed to outway the pros in my mind and the appeal of Halifax and SMU seemed so obvious to me. I guess once again my own plans have been subtely co-opeted by God and He is taking me somewhere else. I'm excited to see where it leads, but the journey begins again in September when I start my Master's in International Development at Saint Mary's University in Halifax.