Coming to that dreary crossroads of life known as graduation.
Finishing an undergrad was anxiety inducing enough, but NOW finishing grad school is creating near blackout conditions. Finishing school with a MA may seem like a grand achievement for some, but in reality, what does it really mean? Right now, it seems to mean more debt and no job.
Perhaps this is somehow connected to the fact I made the clever decision to pursue studies in Religion and Culture rather then devoting my time to something with any sort of practical application to the real world. While I can easily see the connections in almost every facet of life and work, employers are unlikely to agree. Given the chance, I would gladly argue the case for all my cohorts and the value of our degree in today's time. But no one is listening.
Or perhaps my crisis of identity is connected to the slap in the face reality of academic politics. Its generally thought that being at school is akin to living in a social bubble, protected from the harshness of real life, existing in a state of fictitious bliss, away from the politics and drama that dampen every work place. Alas, the truth of the academy is nothing more then a facsimilie of a sham of an untruth. Economic crunch time has dictated the funding for programs, and those programs which are not as valued by the Harper government (read: Arts, Humanities) are getting slashed.
What does this mean then? It means that programs without connections to science or business are losing funding and losing admission spots. It also means that the program I have applied to for my PhD has limited its admission to only 2 spots for the next year. 2 spots which I will not be lucky enough to fill.
So, here I sit in an existential crisis, nearly finished a Masters degree in Religion and Culture, with no options for the foreseeable future except to work at the shitty bar, for shitty money, waiting for next years application deadline to play the academic lottery with my future again.
