Swinging for the Fences

I should post something a bit less enigmatic.

Bear with me. I’m only human, and I can get overly excited or giddy about some passing thing like most folks I suppose. I’m not that prone to momentary absolutism, but I’m not immune either.

Kelli discovered yesterday that Baylor University, which is a reasonable drive from Corsicana, has a well-respected, intensive graduate program in clinical psychology.

This is a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) four-year program.

The kicker is that if you’re accepted, it’s basically a free ride. The school will kick in the money to cover your tuition, and in fact, by the fourth year they don’t even bother to charge you tuition.

But it’s not like just any slouch can walk in there.

So this raises the question of whether I’d have a snowball’s chance in hell of being accepted.

I’ve got a few things in my favor and a few things working against me. I don’t have a psych undergrad degree, but I’ve earned enough psych hours since then to qualify. I could get letters of recommendation (again), of course. I’d have to take the GRE or GMAT. What worries me the most is filling out the “clinical experience” application. Hmm… turns out mine would be blank at this point…

A three to four-page autobiography is required, and I think I could write a compelling one. Given a chance to speak for myself I could make a good case, but there’s no interview (like there is at Wesleyan) mentioned.

I couldn’t do anything until ’06 anyway. Maybe a year in the Wesleyan grad program would make a sufficient impression upon them.

***

So… you ask me, and I ask myself: Is this for real?

I don’t know. The program looks tough, yeah. Really tough. I’m 36, juggling family and a job, in the early stages of having a house built… is it just too much?

Part of me loves the idea of just swinging for the fences on this though. What would I be out? $100 for the GRE, time to study for it, time filling out the application and bugging my letter writers again…

Am I smart enough to do this?

I think that much education kinda makes a person a little bit crazy, if that makes any sense. Ever known a doctor who’s just a normal guy/gal?

But I’m already not a normal guy. Could I live and breathe this stuff for four or more years? Could I possibly make the logistics work with a family?

***

Maybe this is just a flight of fancy. Maybe I’ll come crashing down and talk myself out of it.

But at the moment I don’t see how I can just not TRY.

***

THEBOY has a new pet, a gecko he and his mother (go Kelli!) caught, which has for some reason been named Roachy.

He’s in a Tupperware container with rocks, lots of rocks. This was THEBOY'S mandate. Supposedly they like to eat crickets and grubs, and they don’t eat often. Where can a guy get crickets and grubs anyway? It’s harder than you think. Yeah, the pet store sells them… is there any way buying a container of bugs is cost-efficient for a critter that eats once a week?

We put some pill bugs in there to see if by some chance he’d eat them. One crawled at him and… he ran away. Pill bugs 1, Roachy 0.


***

I’ve still got the crud. Early and late in the day I feel kinda crappy, but the rest of the time I’m okay. It’s a lingering illness, but it’s just not bad enough to send me to the doc.

***

So onward I go, pondering my own commencement in this life. Do I just have stars in my eyes? Is there any chance I’m cut out for a doctorate? Are both my readers snickering at the very prospect?

Happy Wednesday.