now what?
i just received an email that the postgraduate certificate in teaching english as a second language i was supposed to start this september has been cancelled "due to low enrolment." It's not the end of the world. it isn't even the only online tesl program that i can take. but it was through a local college that placed you somewhere in the region to do your required teaching hours rather than you having to find these places yourself, and i could have used anything on campus, because i would have been a student. i don't know. i'm just bummed out, i guess.
part of me is trying to convince myself it's a blessing in disguise - while i've pretty much always wanted to teach esl and work with newcomers, the more i've thought about it, the more i've questioned whether i want to be in front of a classroom. to be honest, i'm not certain i would be a good teacher. but doesn't everyone feel that way before they step in front of the blackboard for the first time?
either way, i'm browsing more postgrad options and trying to decide which path i want to pursue. i'll be twenty-eight on June 16. realistically, i know one can continue in academia at any age, and to be quite honest, i'll probably still be a student when i'm in my seventies. but part of me still feels like i'm running out of time to make these decisions.
the problem is, there are only a few master's degrees and postgrad certificates that really speak to me, and most of them are, well... useless, i guess. well, not really, obviously - i don't believe any degree is useless in the slightest. but i'm someone who loves academia. the general public is... not. my bachelor's degree in creative writing isn't seen as particularly useful, anyways, so i'm not entirely sure why i care.
it's weird - not a lot of them really connect to creative writing at first glance. some cases can be made, of course. the MA in intercultural and international communication, for example, can definitely be seen as connecting to writing. Writing is communicating one's ideas. That makes sense. This one, however, is on the other side of the country - and I can barely afford ontario. i don't even want to try british columbia.
i'm really not sure how i connect my background in creative writing with my draw towards Theological Studies, however, or Social Justice and Community Engagement.
at the end of the day, i distinctly remember my professors telling me that it often isn't the field of your undergraduate that is most important - it is being able to sell yourself, your work ethic, and demonstrate the research and time management skills that you achieved in your bachelor's degree. with any luck, they're right. i just need to figure out exactly where i'm going next, and head towards it without looking back. which... is easier said than done.