If the mind were a flower, I'd be a weed

Since I'm on the Blog, i have to post something... I've been looking online at phd programs all afternoon. My advisor recommended I do so in registering for my Fall classes at Trinity this next semester. And, whoa. I'm overwhelmed. E, I feel you, dawg. It is a mindjob trying to consider all that "is" a phd and even moreso to place yourself in it. Lisa said it well, "Don't forget that academia is a calling." I looked specifically at the Sociology Department at Notre Dame, a complementary Masters of Arts in Mediation (or Conflict Resolution) at Marquette in Milwaukee, and the Social Service Administration Department at University of Chicago. And it's amazing how much self-doubt I feel right now. At the moment, I can't even answer the question, "Why" I would get a phd. Let alone consider how I would get accepted or cover the costs once I did. Most of the phd programs have a required year of academic residency and an additinal year of scholastic development tacked on to the program studies themselves. Dude... I suddenly feel like I know how to pray more specifically for E.