30 days till VidCon, or something like that....

Ya, so I'm not much of a vlogger, but I'll blog everyday till VidCon. So here goes....

If you're reading this, I assume you already know what VidCon is, if you don't, you can find out about it at www.VidCon2010.com, it's too much awesome for me to try and explain on my own.

Is it 30 days? 29 days? I'm not sure right now. I'm tired. All I know is that it's about a month away and I am excited for it, but I don't really want to talk about VidCon in this blog. I want to talk about options and life decisions.

I graduated college last year with a bachelors degree in Geology. I haven't done much to advance my career since I graduated, I have just been working part time at a home improvement store. Since the beginning of this year, I've been asking myself, "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?"

I really want to go to grad school in California, but I can not afford to move there unless I have a better job first. So, my hope of a plan was to get hired somewhere, move to California, work for a while, then eventually go back to school to get a masters degree. Simple plan, but then options started popping up everywhere. A couple of full-time supervisor positions opened up at my job which I am qualified for, so I applied for the promotion. (I have been interviewed, and I am told a decision has been made, though they have not actually informed me of their decision, and, as of right now, I am still in the same position I've always been in.)

Also, a few weeks ago, an old professor of mine was shopping at the store where I work. He asked me if I was already in grad school. I told him my intentions of moving to California and eventually going back to school. He then suggested that I apply to UNLV, the school I received my bachelors degree from, and where he works. He said he had the funding to take on a student this fall. Basically, he was offering me a fellowship, to work for the school, and the school would fund my studies. WHAT AN AMAZING INCREDIBLE OFFER!!!! Getting into grad school is not exactly a walk in the park, but here was this teacher, basically handing me an acceptance to a grad program and promising me a fellowship. I'm certain that's not something that happens everyday, so I felt extremely grateful and excited. However, there are two things that hinder the excitement. One is that, if I accept this teachers offer, I do not get to choose what to study as a masters student. I would have to get my masters degree in Hydrogeology. (I wanted to master in geophysics or engineering geology). The second thing is that I still have not taken the GRE- Graduate Record Exam (it's like an SAT for college graduates). I would have to take this exam before I could be accepted into a grad program, which means I have to spend the rest of my summer studying for this test and saving money to pay for it. The test costs about $150. As of right now, I've told the teacher that I am interested in his offer and I am currently studying for the GRE, but I am waiting for further details from him.

A third opportunity has also been given to me recently. For the past year or so I have been painting my own nails as a hobby. A lot of people have suggested that I become a nail technician in the meantime, while I wait to go to grad school. Being a nail technician would be fun, except that where I live a license is required and that requires at least 6 months of school, which also costs money that I do not have. Except that my grandparents have offered to pay for me to go to school to get a nail technicans license. I have meetings with two separate beauty schools this week to get information about their nail tech programs. My first thought though is that I am not prepared to commit to their class schedules. (Five hours every evening, five days a week, every week, for 6 - 9 months). I'm not sure if beauty school is really something I want to do 'right now'.

So that's what is filling the headspace right now. I've got a pending promotion at work, a tentative fellowship offer to go to grad school, an offer from my grandparents to go to beauty school if I choose to, and nothing to stop me from applying for entry level geology jobs at the same time.

I am definately looking forward to VidCon, but I am also nervous and excited about the days and weeks after VidCon and finding out which of these options will become a reality.