To put it briefly, my graduate school experience was anything but a crisis. It was a relief actually. I had been working at an advertising agency for five years, a job I started right out of undergrad. In hindsight, the job wasn’t that bad. But at the time it felt like a very real Office Space. I worked on one client primarily my time there, I became good at what I did, there would be a surprise every now and then but for the most part I “gridned” or “coasted” my days out at the agency, depending on your outlook. Point being: I felt there was no way out. I was desperate. I applied for other similar jobs but when I got an offer at a larger agency, I knew for certain it would only get worse. This is when I learned two words which acted as a pressure release valve: GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP. A way to get paid a stipend and have your tuition paid for in return for part time work. When I found out I received one, a weight was gone. I just gave my self four semester, two years, to figure things out and get a masters degree while I was it. Well, that was in 2011. I finished my grad program in 2013. I’m writing this post in February of 2015. Guess what I figured out? I need to think about it myself. I need to reflect on my grad school experience, the purpose it served, and what it has/is doing for me. Next post: “What was I thinking?”