Life Lately.

My life has changed quite dramatically in the last few months. A lot of my closest friends have known what is going on, but I thought I might update the internet on what is happening. 

For a whole bunch of personal and complicated reasons, I will be leaving the Ph.D program at Temple this year. It's just not the right place for me. I still be enrolled in the program, though it remains to be seen if I will be taking any classes to finish up a certificate yet-it really depends on cost etc. 

This fall, I am going to be starting a job as the Teen Outreach Coordinator for the Free Library of Philadelphia. I'll be tasked with reading lots of Young Adult novels, coordinating events with authors, and presenting novels to high school students across Philadelphia. It's literally the perfect job for me. I am in search of a second part time job, so if anybody has any leads on writing/barista/etc jobs, let me know. I'm also going to take an English class at CCP, mostly for kicks but also to fill in some basic knowledge because I wasn't an English major in college and have some pretty basic gaps regarding "the canon" or whatever. 

I am applying to Ph.D programs, primarily in American Studies, but also in English. This transition has been a long time coming and I'm excited to be finding programs that fit my intellectual interests. I don't think I realized how much I was forcing myself to fit into history, when my interests were diverging. Maybe, most radical though, is that I am going to apply to a couple Journalism MA programs. I'm not sure about them, because they come with debt, but more and more I'm thinking I want to be a writer first, scholar second. So far, it's only NYU and Columbia on my list, but I am going to come up and visit. 

I am also applying for a Fulbright in South Africa. I had planned to apply as a college senior, though I am glad i didn't. I have a much cooler and more specific idea for as project and am simply way more intellectually mature. 

SO hopefully, something pans out. For write now, I am going to work at the library and continue writing every chance I get. Some big big changes coming my way, but I think they are ultimately for the better