Hello, real world.

I just registered for the GRE.  Saturday, September 20.  This scares me a bit on several levels.  This means I need to actually study for the GRE.  Actually, that is sort of why I wanted to go ahead and register; I now have a set deadline in mind, so I have to be ready by then.  But taking the GRE also means figuring out where I am applying to.  I am 90% that I want to get a Master’s of City and Regional Planning, concentrating in environmental planning or land use planning. For right now, the schools that have the most appealing programs to me are (in no particular order):

• Duke
• Carolina
• MIT
• Portland State Univeristy (Oregon)
• UC Berkley
• Cornell
• Rutgers
• University of Oregon
• Harvard

But then I start thinking, “Do I really want to go straight into graduate school? Will I even get into graduate school?” I have a pretty clear idea of what I would like to do as a career, but at what other point in my life am I going to be free of any real responsibilities and obligations? So I think, Peace Corps! AmeriCorps! Student Conservation Association! Teach English in China! I don’t know. All of the possibilities really excites me, but deciding on one is daunting. I know whatever is supposed to happen will fall into place. I guess the GRE is the first step.