Going, Going, Back, Back, to College, College

Remember when you could roll out of bed, throw a hat and a hoodie on, and stumble yourself to class in 10 minutes; when every year the school gave you a bunch of “free” money you spent on absurdly overpriced books and Chick-fil-a; when the people you passed on campus were the same people you saw at house parties every weekend?

Hard to believe that was six years ago.

I’m applying to the graduate school at George Mason right now so I spent the last two days meeting the faculty of my program and touring the campus. I’m not the smartest guy by any means but one thing I can do well is get a person in my corner if given the opportunity to talk one on one. There’s an appropriate way to communicate with someone who you are relying on and being conscious of this is as important as anything. The idea is to show strength and vulnerability at the same time. You have to let them know that you both need and are worthy of help. 90 percent of this comes through body language.

It’s strange to be walking around a campus again. I don’t remember college kids being so awkward. Look, I’m sure when I was 18 I looked funny too, and I’m sure 18 Mike would have made fun of me for wearing these around UNCW campus

He can go somewhere though… these joints are fresh

I liked the campus. At least half the population seemed to be foreign. I even walked by a few girls that said, “It’s cold out here, no estoy en Colombia.” Early in the day I saw a group of kids doing taekwondo in a courtyard and a little later a group playing the drums and guitar. One guy was standing on a bench with his shirt off freestyling about Bob Marley and things the legend loved. There seems to be some life buried in the middle of suburban Fairfax. Who would have thunk it?

what is that girl smuggling in her sweatpants? good lawd!

Getting to class isn’t just a stumble anymore either. One option is to drive 15 miles in DC rush hour traffic, which takes an hour and involves paying for parking. The other option is to take this

and then this

which ends up being a 12 dollar round trip and taking over an hour. Halo kept me from class freshman year; imagine if I had to do that to get to PE!

I will be going for my masters in Instructional Design and Development and a certification in e-learning systems. My intention as of now is to go straight through to get my PhD. This would cut out a considerate amount of time if I pick a path and stick to it. I’m not sure exactly what it is I want to do yet but I like the idea of owning my own company that does contract audio/video/web production. I love coming up with an idea and working with others to bring it to life; hopefully I can do that with this whole get my life together idea. Wish me luck … and then tell me I don’t need it.

p.s. If you went to GMU or know someone who did/does drop a comment on this post. I’m applying to some other schools as well and want to be as informed as possible.