Because I am a human being with a life outside this blog, I often forget that my readers only know as much of my story as I tell them. At some point in the last month or so I decided that my path away from the law and toward writing will include a trip to graduate school. Somehow I have neglected to fill you in, faithful reader, so here's the story.

When I chose to go to law school I had been ready to apply to MFA programs in creative writing. When I decided to forgo the latter for the former, I promised myself that one day I would get my MFA in creative writing, if only for myself. In fact last year I had met with professors at USF to learn more about their night school MFA program. Good thing I didn't go that route, because I would have incurred $35,000 or more in student loan debt (icing on the cake, really, for the $130,000 of law school debt I already have).

At some point in my recent process of self-discovery one of my co-editors on the blog As It Ought To Be contacted me with some invaluable information. He let me know that there are a number of MFA programs across the country that fund. That is, they waive your tuition and pay you a modest living stipend and in exchange (usually, but not at all schools) you teach a class for the university each semester. So you can get your MFA without incurring a dime of student loan debt. In fact, they pay you to go to school.

What? Did I die and go to heaven?

The catch is that these schools are typically in places that you would not otherwise want to live. That is, none of the programs are in California or New York. The schools I will be applying to are in places like Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, and Ohio.

In all honesty, when I first graduated with my BA and was considering an MFA program I would likely not have relocated to go to school, particularly not to a place with winters like Michigan, Ohio, or Illinois! But I've done a lot of growing up since then, and I know what it feels like to have the weight of $130,000 of student loan debt weighing me down. If someone wants to pay for me to go to school, that is an opportunity I cannot pass up.

And, as one faithful reader noted very early on in this blog, when you are in school your student loan debts are always deferred. So for the duration of graduate school I will not have to make payments on my ridiculous law school student loan debt.

Now of course you must realize that going back to school is my dream. It was my dream in 2002 when I chose law school instead, and it has been a dream of mine ever since. I am one of those people who LOVES to be in school. In fact, if I could be in school, studying what I love for the rest of my life, I would do it.

And that's just what I plan to do.

After earning my MFA I plan to go on to get my PhD. Apparently PhD programs are the same story - they fund you to earn the degree. And what does one do with an MFA and PhD in creative writing? Well, one becomes a university professor, of course. This too is a dream I have had since university. If I am a university professor teaching literature and creative writing I will be able to be in school for the rest of my life. I can't imagine a better plan for me.

Now, since my co-editor gave me the scoop on the MFA programs a couple of friends have turned me onto another option - a joint MA / PhD program. The differences are subtle. An MFA will take two years, followed by five years of a PhD program, whereas the joint MA / PhD program will take only five years. However, an MFA program is focused completely on writing. I will write poetry (and perhaps fiction or memoir) and at the end I will produce a book and hopefully have it published. PhD programs are more scholarly, with the focus being on the work of others. So it does appeal to me more to have two years to dedicate to my writing before moving onto my PhD and focusing on the work of others. Still, I plan to apply for both and see where I am accepted and what funding packages are offered and make my decision accordingly.

The application period is in December of 2010 to begin classes the following year, in the fall of 2011. In the mean time I have to take the GRE and get a decent score on the written portion. Then I have to get application packets off comprised of about 15 pages of my best and most polished work and letters of recommendation from the best sources I can muster.

The move itself will be a huge change in my life. I will be leaving San Francisco, my favorite city in the world. I will be leaving behind my family, including my father who is ill, some of my best friends who are my true support system, and most likely my boyfriend, which may very well bring about the end of our relationship.

Huge sacrifices will be made for this decision. But at the end of the day, the decision is to make my dreams come true. George Bernard Shaw said, "Nothing is worth doing unless the consequences may be serious." I am not sure I agree one hundred percent with that adage, but I do believe that doing the right thing can often come at a price, a price that is inevitably worth the sacrifice.