Thursday, November 11, 2010

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

First off, I am well aware that the post below me is funky. I have no idea what happened. I tried to do it on my phone which I will never do again. It shows up just perfect on my safari on my phone but obviously it looks like a jumbled, weird mess on a real computer... Sometime I will get around to fixing it. lesson learned.

Second off, I need some help. I have a REALLY big decision coming my way in terms of school choice. As in, where will I spend the next 4 years of my life? I've surprised even myself & narrowed it down to two. Memphis or Philadelphia. Here are the pros and cons that I can think of.... feel free to chime in with others.

Memphis Pros/Philly Cons:
1 & 2. Close to family/friends. I would not be ok with being that many miles away if something happened to anyone I loved. I would also not like being able to see my loved ones only on holidays. I have never gone over three or so weeks without seeing my parents and the thought of having to do that scares me...so much so that I should probably count this one twice... so I just did.
3. I know the area very well. It would be a thousand times easier to find an apartment and work out the living situation.
4. Due to the amount of money I am saving being in state, I could live in a better place... like downtown or mud island... both extrememly nice choices.
5. Southern College of Optometry in Memphis has a reputation of being a very great school and a reputation of being harder to get into than Philly.
6. Networking - Where you go to school is where your network is. If I go to Memphis, I could have some job leads here. If I go to Philly, they will most likely be in the North.... which may or may not be a bad thing.....
7. So far, I like the faculty and staff at Memphis better. Not sure if I can really base this on three or four folks though....

Philly Pros/Memphis Cons:
1. & 2. The most obvious... I am out of memphis!! I get the chance to experience another city & another part of the country. I might never have this chance again. Will I regret it forever if I never leave Memphis? The thought freaks me out... so I'll count it twice.
3. The area in and around the school - Memphis = homeless/ghetto central.....Philly = lovely residential area.
4. New people & the chance to start over.... Don't get me wrong, I love my friends & don't know what I would do without them. They complete me. HOWEVER, most of them are moving on & doing their own thing... marriage, kids, moving away, etc. I'm scared of getting left behind in the dust. If I went to Philly, I would feel like I'm doing my own thing. and who doesn't like the chance of starting completely over... clean slate and all?
5. Philly is a train ride away from New York City, Atlantic City, Washinton D.C., Boston, Pittsburgh, and I could go on and on. This fact speaks for itself.

That's really all I got.... I realize that Memphis has two more pros than Philadelphia....But in my mind, that's not enough to write off the idea of moving away. I'm scared I would regret it either way... no matter what I do. I need a therapist. Someone that will listen to me ramble on and on, and then tell me that my subconcious screams that I should go to one or the other. I'm praying about it so I hope I get some kind of sign soon. I have to decide by Christmas. Someone help.

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