AlwaySane Is In Da House

School starts today

Come on now children. Move along, move along!

Don't crowd the corridors. Walk quietly. Oh and remember to bring your notes to classes! I will remind you once again that there will be a pop quiz on chapter 5 of your textbook so be sure to read up!

Finally, after a week of orientation and endless rounds of self introduction, actual classes begin. Let me tell you that in the States, they are very particular about foreign students. Must fill in pages of forms, sign letters, verify things etc... The best thing is, we have already given them all these information BEFORE we even arrive.

And the self intro part. It's pretty torturous. I've never self intro myself so much in one day! Yet in a span of 8 hours I've been repeating the same old story. I later on realize that our ways of self introduction go via the same route:

- Hi, my name is _____ (fill in the blanks with your name)
- I am from _____ (where you come from)
- My background was in _____ (undergrad studies, work)
- I am excited/happy/thrilled/exhilarated to be here
- I hope to gain knowledge in _____ (whatever area you want to learn)
- Would love to do research in _____ (most of us are clueless anyway, or our interest will change in a healthy span of 8 seconds)
- Looking forward to school.

Yup, it's the same old deal of trying to get through it with the least number of injuries. It can be a blow in the head, especially when the three other people before you are either extremely brilliant or they have said all that you wanted to say.

My bookshelf with textbooks, books and what-nots. Quite neat hor?

And after yesterday's seemingly endless orientation, I had in my head about 10 research topics (and growing) that I want to do. It's crazy. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, seems so interesting. Like I have so many opportunities suddenly dropping down from the sky ready for me to take on it's not funny! What's so good about this program is that I am not limited to what I can pursue. It's as if the horizon is vast and I can pick and choose which ship I want to embark on, just bearing in mind the direction and how good I am with steering.

So, I am offering this piece of insanity to my Lord and Leader. He will be the ultimate Guide, steering me to the research project that will most impact me as well as people around me.

Today our class is Designing Systems and Messages. I am clueless as to what it is about but based on the title of the textbook, it seems as if we are going to learn how to integrate communication into the corporate world and it's role in the bigger society. I don't know. Will let you guys know soon. Right now, the jigsaw's still new, in the box. No pieces fixed yet.

My textbooks, organizer and notebook. If you look closely at the organizer on the right hand side of the photographs, you'll notice I have written Jazz dance. Hyak hyak... No matter how busy I am, must definitely find time to dance!

-----

Anybody got any idea what sort of research topic I can do?

Effective campaign methods by non profit organisations targeted at the elderly population?

Use of humor and fear in public health campaign designs?

How non profit organisations to are using multi- and interactive media to increase its viability and visibility?

Role of campaign designs in stroke management?

Symbiotic relationship between non profit and private healthcare institutions in their communication to the ageing population about stroke management?

-----

Many right? Trust me, the list is growing by the seconds. It's daunting task and I am leaning more and more on His goodness and grace to lead me out of this winding maze.

I thank God for all these ideas and I believe each of them has its role in the world we live in. But ultimately, I believe my Leader will open my eyes to THE topic that I will have most fun and joy doing and the experience will have a positive impact.

Amen.

I think I better go prepare for the class later. Heard from my seniors (I mean those who have already begun the program for a year) that there's a whole deal lot of work.

Great.

=====
The Grad School Chronicler

Sane reflects @ this location permanently