I got in!!  I am officially a masters degree-seeking student at Johns Hopkins University, and almost rolled over with glee upon hearing the news.  It’s amazing to believe that a few months ago, I was still considering whether or not to go to graduate school, and made the decision to apply to JHU in practically a few days, and here I am going to start classes in January.

I usually put extreme expectations on myself, something that most perfectionists cannot shake.  Academia has always been an environment that I feel comfortable in, but at this new juncture in my life, I expect, or more accurately, hope, that the results prove more profound than merely receiving a degree. 

I am still highly sensitive to the occurrences that make up my day-to-day life.  I am constantly looking for any signs that may lead me to my greater purpose.  JHU just may show me new doors, and I’m completely ready to walk on through. 

From my statement of purpose:

I cannot say I know what I should do with my life, but I know I have certain gifts.  What to do with these gifts is what I hope to determine with advanced studies. I believe that if I can cultivate my analytical mind further, I’ll learn how to synthesize factual knowledge with the subtle nuances of experience – those belonging to a collective community as well as those unique to individuals, and I’ll be one step closer to finding my purpose.

When I look back on what interested me most in my studies as an undergraduate, I realize that it was always one thing – to understand the profundity in how we, as a collective community, interpret our surroundings to make better sense of our individual lives, and how the implications and effects of this temporal consciousness affect how we carry out our daily processes. By analyzing our constantly changing civilization, based on the fundamentals of communication, and its various machines and modes of distribution, we are able to unfold our cultural timeline.

Whatever my purpose may be, I know my artist and my realist can both be satisfied. I can keep asking questions, and will be content to find answers shaped by personal experience and the experiences of those who have lived long before me. We are all connected, after all. I just want a chance to take a closer look.