My Somewhat Uncertain Future

When people hear that I am graduating this spring, inevitably they want to know two questions: 1) am I ready/how do I feel about it, and 2) what am I going to do after graduation. To answer the first question, I usually say that it's a weird "mix of emotions." I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time about this point in my life. My identity as a student (an identity I've had for 17 years ever since I first entered Kindergarten at H.C. Davis Elementary school in Cut Bank, MT) has the possibility of coming to an end. Thankfully, I plan on being able to postpone that identity shift as long as I can, which leads me to the answer of question 2.

I plan on attending graduate school to study Geotechnical Engineering, a more specialized branch of Civil Engineering. I'm in an odd spot compared to most students looking at grad school attendance since I will graduate from ACU with a degree in a non-engineering field (Physics). I also want to take some time off of school before entrance in grad school go work, travel, explore, and otherwise gain some real-life experience. So after a semester or a year off and having to take some remedial course work I might never stop being a student, at least until my family gets sick of me being a perpetual student-bum. Then I'll get down to business and get the cliche "haircut and a real job."

That being said, I have exciting news: I recently have been accepted into Colorado State University's Graduate School! Unfortunately they were unable to offer me any financial aid due to me having to catch up on the background coursework. That along with not being a resident of Colorado will need to be weighed carefully against my desire to study in Fort Collins.