The Journey Continues

In the last two weeks, I've mailed my $500 check to Medill to reserve my enrollment, turned down the other programs I was considering, and, oh yeah, quit my job and moved back to Hawaii.

It's been a busy two weeks.

I debated for a long, long time between staying in New York and studying at CUNY versus moving to Chicago and attending Medill at Northwestern. I've seen CUNY up close and their program would have given me the training, connections, and support to get into a journalism career but, despite not having visited Medill, my research convinced me their program would give me a better edge in the long run thanks to their established network and first-rate faculty.

Both programs offered me full tuition scholarships, so even though I didn't have to weigh costs when comparing the programs, financial considerations still played a major role in my return to Hawaii.

Staying in New York was a no-brainer if I planned to attend CUNY, but when I decided to attend Medill I realized I had a new option. When I first moved out to New York I purchased a round trip ticket that included an April 29th return flight that made me look damn near prescient.

I don't recommend quitting your job and moving across the country in less than two weeks but I'm living proof that it's possible.

I gave my bosses a five-day notice and spent my last week in NY packing and giving away my belongings. Fortunately, my brother, my landlord, and a very generous friend in Chicago were on-board with my efforts and played huge roles in my not breaking down into a whimpering ball of tears.

Yesterday I went to the beach and found myself more than little surprised at my sudden change in surroundings. I'm here in Hawaii to save money and half of that plan is getting rent-free accommodations from my folks and the other half involves actually making more money. I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet.

However, I will be writing and updating this site more frequently, which is ironic since the next few months will most likely be less interesting than the previous seven. Classes don't start until the end of September but I'm planning to use the intervening months to hone my writing and practice this thing called "reporting."

I think this summer will be fun and busy. Just not as busy as the last two weeks.