Decisions: I Finally Made Up My Mind!!!

Making a decision on where I want to be and where I am supposed to be for the next 5 to 6 years is a big deal and is not an easy decision for me to make. As many of you all know, I am a recent graduate from UMBC and I applied for PhD programs for the fall of 2013. Entering the graduate school realm at a place far away from home (out-of-state) is very scary. I'd basically be starting fresh completely on my own. I know in my heart I'll be fine though. Many people have done it before me, right, and they made it out alright?

Here's the story. Mid-February acceptance letters and rejection letters started rolling around and decision time began getting shorter and shorter by the second. It seemed like forever before I started hearing back from the schools that I really was considering attending. Fast forward to mid-March, a few rejection letters later (from schools I thought I'd get into), and I finally narrowed my options down to 2 schools: Virginia Tech and the University of Pittsburgh.

Both are really amazing schools, but two major factors are costs and environment (distance from included). After many hours of comparing schools, chatting with family and friends, praying, and fasting, I went back and forth on where I wanted to go. In reality, I was asking myself the wrong questions and not thinking in the right frame of mind. What I should have been asking myself is where does God want me to go or where am I supposed to be. Today, after talking to my academic advisor, who is also a man of God, I got my answer. It was like the icing on the cake.

By the grace of God, I am elated to share that I have finally made a decision. Now I can smile without worrying what the future beholds. Wherever I go I know I will be taken care of and I will make the most of my experience. With the power vested in me, I now pronounce myself as a Hokie!!! I will be attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University otherwise know as Virginia Tech!!!

Let me soak that in. Whew, that was long overdue, but I had to wait on God to tell me where I was supposed to go. My patience has really been tested these past few months. Now I can move forward and proceed with filling out paperwork, applying for assistantships, and fellowships, and simply doing my part and letting God handle the rest. God is good all the time!

And with that, I can say that my decision making wasn't so bad after all.  It was all worth it in the long run.