It's getting all serious up in here!

Some grownup issues I must write about:

I registered for the GRE yesterday, and in the words of Mr. Williams and Mika: "Ka-ching!" It's a pretty big commitment now, and I feel like it has really initiated me into the process of applying to grad schools. This whole process is pricey! The cost of the GRE (you have to pay $150 EACH time you take it), the cost of applying to each graduate school, plus any additional travel expenses. It was really nice talking to Kate yesterday for a while about the GRE and other application questions I had. It is great having a friend who just recently went through the whole process. I'm taking the GRE on November 16th, which gives me a little less than three weeks to study for this 3-4 hour long test!

Yesterday I drove to Lawrence to talk with the Director of Graduate Studies in the Art History department at KU. I asked him about some questions I had about the application process, and he also gave me an overview of the program. I had originally thought that obtaining a GTA position (graduate teaching assistant) would be nearly impossible as a first year student, but he said they are now actively looking at first-years. It sounds like a very ideal situation! Not only do they pay for your tuition, but give you an additional $14,000 salary. When I told Kate about that, she laughed and said that it was sad that's how much I'd be making after getting a college degree. But honestly it's better than nothing and sadly enough, about four times as much as my current "salary." The GTA's in the Art History department usually work in the slide room, preparing slides for classes, give tours at the museum, and assist professors in grading undergraduate papers and tests. I would love that! The more I look into graduate school, the more I want to go! At this point I'm thinking about just getting a Master's, and possibly finding work in a museum, not necessarily as a curator, but more in the background part of things.

I also asked the director about what kind of qualities he looks for in a student applying to the program. He said that a lot of emphasis is on knowing how to write well (why they ask for a writing sample) and having good verbal skills. For my reference letters, I'm going to ask Janzen to write one for me of course, and I even thought of my English 300 professor, Raylene. She would provide a good report on my writing skills, and she really liked me. ;) haha, so that helps! I asked Dr. Janzen after class today if she would help me write my professional statement and with other various parts of the application, and she told me she would be happy to do so. I love her!

When I got to my Art of Africa class, we were originally going to review the images in our chapter for today, but I ran into Janzen just before I got to Garvey. She was bending over, trying to get a white hair off of her black skirt; I don't think she even noticed the dog running loose on campus as he brushed up against her. She's adorable! She said she was heading over to the Union to pick up a copy of the New York Times for news in Africa. When she got to class, Reinhild said that she had been handed a copy of Invisible Children in the Union, calling it a "serendipitous meeting," and announced that we would be watching that instead of having a lecture. I saw Invisible Children four years ago here at Washburn, and honestly I feel like I was a much different person then. It was more powerful and moving for me to watch it this time.