Top 5 Things to Avoid When Attempting your Master's

    Other people in the program might have their top 5. These are just ones that I would suggest avoiding. They aren't good reasons for not applying to the program but once you're in you may not want to initiate any of these events.

1.  Move. Don’t do it. We weren’t planning on it but when the military tells you it’s time to move, you move (My husband is a Marine). We were in Japan and had already been told we would be there for at least another year. The USMC choose to be fickle in their decision and told us in early April we would be moving. We were back in the states by early July. We will be moving again in a couple of weeks into the house we own after our tenants vacate. That’s two moves in the first few months of my degree. Don’t do it, I implore you.

2.  Have a baby or adopt one. Yeah. This is another thing we weren’t planning on and were taking measures to avoid. I am glad it won’t be my first as I was a raving crazy person and would really not have been able to handle the degree and the baby thing at the same time. At least this time around I have only been compared to the Death Star From Hell. It’s a huge improvement over last time but still presents some challenges. I imagine trying to adopt could actually be even more stressful.

3.  Get a new dog. I throw this in here only because if you choose to wait on the former you might think this is a good choice. Look at it this way: puppies grow into dogs and will forever remain the mental equivalent of a two year old. They are children in fur coats forever. There is the potty training and the manners training and the don’t-put-your-nose-there training. Too much training and there is WAY too much reading in this program to be dealing with that.

4.  Get married. I think this might be easier for a guy to pull off but that would really depend on your involvement in the planning phase and your tolerance for your fiance who may turn into her own version of the Death Star From Hell. This is not something I will be attempting during this degree. I am not sad.

5.  Start a new job or spend a good portion of your time looking for a job during the worst economy in recent history. Due to the fact that my commute would really hinder my ability to live I chose to give up my job in Japan. I won’t tell you how many resumes I have sent out because it is way too depressing but I will suggest you may not want to purposefully go down this road while in the DEL MEM program. Just a suggestion.

If you find yourself in any one or a combination of these don’t panic; You will still get through the program. But why make it any harder than you have to? All of the staff have been extremely understanding of our situation and as long as I communicate to them what is going on they are more than willing to assist where possible. But if I had to do over again I would not make an international move, a domestic move, get pregnant or try to find a job all within a few months time. But that’s just me.

The gratuitous dog picture was taken in Okinawa, Japan shortly before we left. It is my property and I will talk loudly and incessantly at you if you use it without permission.