After much consideration and biting of nails, I’ve decided to decline the generous offer to attend the University of Michigan MSI program in Human Computer Interaction. It’s a top-rate program at a fantastic school in a hip locale. So why not go?
With a three-year-old and a one-year-old, I’m afraid the transition would be too traumatic, not just for the kids, but for me, too, and especially for Sara. I’d be uprooting the family for two years, only to uproot them again when I get the degree.
And they would be two payless years. That would be tough to take. Not to mention that I really enjoy the job I have now.
When I began researching graduate programs and discovered the one at U of M, I was ending a seven-year teaching career and had few prospects in sight. I must confess that grad school sounded a lot more appealing when I was unemployed. I didn’t expect to land a job that would have me doing some of the things that I hoped to go to school to learn how to do. Funny how that worked out.
So now the only nagging question I have is if I’m playing it too safe, taking the well-worn path instead of the trail of adventure. But I’m not even sure that matters, at least not as much as it might have 15 years ago. Maybe at this point in my life the well-worn path is the best path. Maybe someday I’ll know.