Feed my brain!!!

Tonight I was wondering,
"If I went back to school, would I get another degree? A Masters? And in what?"
What would YOU go back to school for?

I graduated from Bethel University in May of 2006 with a BA in Communication (I also had a minor in Psychology). I loved my classes, and I think I had a fantastic education, overall. Almost everyday, I use the knowledge I attained from both areas of study. I'm reading books and blogs to learn more about wedding photography and business... I have great mentors... And I'm learning a lot from Freedom Club and Open Source Photo forum (OSP)...and I'll be going to my first WPPI convention in March!

I'm continually learning! Sometimes it's overwhelming how much information there is to soak up. But most of the time it's exciting, because who doesn't love learning about things they love? Or learning things that will help you succeed with what you love! (For example, "Statistics"... A class that Psych majors have to take and do not always love... but it helps them on the journey to do what they love.)

I find it funny that I'm even thinking about school. With all that I'm learning these days, you'd think I'd have no need or desire to go back to school! Perhaps it's the structure of school. No, I never really enjoyed the actual writing of the papers, or taking the tests, or studying... But I enjoyed what i was learning about (most of the time:)). I think I miss the human interaction-- the unique opinions and viewpoints of my fellow students and instructors... it helped my viewpoints expand and develop.
I think I get a level of the interaction with blogging and OSP, but there's nothing like that face-to-face discussion. I LOVE meeting with prospective clients at coffee shops... It's a chance to talk face to face with people!

I love talking with people about things they are passionate about.
I love when people offer helpful advice to me.
I love giving advice to others-- even if it is not helpful, I only want to offer it
in order to be helpful, and if that person doesn't believe it's helpful,
then that's ok!
I love photography, art, and anything visual.
I love communication and psychology (which is why I studied them at Bethel!)

So I did some google searches for programs I might be interested in...
If I went back to school right NOW, I think it would be for one of two things:
1) MFA (Masters in Fine Arts) in Design Criticsm. It was a difficult program
to find... because I couldn't put my finger on what it was I was interested in doing, specifically... But then I found this program. Here's a bit of the description:
".... providing the tools for researching, analyzing, evaluating and chronicling all aspects of design, students will prepare for careers as design critics, journalists, editors, curators, educators and design managers."
The unfortunate thing: This program is only offered in New York at the School of Visual arts, and would cost roughly $55k for the two year program.
2) MFA Visual Communications...
In college, I tried to choose a few classes that focused on the visual aspect of communication or I did my research projects on certain visual communications... photography and business, have a lot to do with visual communication... and Visual Communications has a bit to do with Psychology. So really, I feel that in a way, I was studying Visual Communication for the most part... even though my emphasis was on "Human Communication." It was a VERY broad major, so las year, Bethel split it up into three different areas:
Organizationalt Communication
Relational Communication
Rhetorical Communication
(And they still have Media Communication... an area in which I almost had a 2nd minor!)
3)MFA in Photography
... you can teach at some colleges with an MFA... I think that would be very fun.

On a related note, I found this website very intriguing...
The Photography Criticsm CyberArchive
Call me boring....:)


While I would enjoy going back to school, I don't think I have the money for that...(I'll be paying off loans from my beloved university for quite some time),
AND I don't know if I have it in me right NOW to go through 2 years of school... I'm still exhausted after 4 years of college that were really tough. Well worth it, but tough.

And so, I will continue to learn in the ways aforementioned--
unless it is made obvious by God that I should do otherwise!


In my next post, I will share some photos from my last day of working at my other job. I am officially "on my own" as of last Friday. (I still have tremendous support from many people, so I cannot exactly say I am "on my own" :)