So it begins

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...wait, that's not right, it was in this galaxy...captain's log star date one one...wait, not a captain...ok, I digress. When I was in college (the first time. Oh, that sounds bad. I mean for my undergraduate degree.) I thought my path was to complete my undergraduate, then graduate, then doctorate degrees with no breaks. Lofty goals. I didn't exactly follow that path because, well, life happened. The completion of my graduate degree was inevitable, if nearly 10 years later than expected. During the final semester of my graduate degree my dream/goal of achieving a doctoral degree became real once again. After accomplishing all the required tasks and graduating with a master's degree, I looked closely at a program near home that allows the student to determine the course of study based on personal interest and passion. My excitement (and anxiety) built as I investigated further and finished, then submitted, the required admission materials. Then, the waiting. The waiting. The waiting. It felt like forever. And a day. Initially the news I received was my status on the wait list (more waiting!!), but less than a week later the happy news of acceptance bounced into my inbox (which I read while sitting in my car after spending the day at the San Diego Zoo with three amazing friends who squealed their pleasure along with me!).
Since that time life continues to roll along, with the little preparations of going back to school...again. AAAAND filling out student loan forms for the first time (yes, I've been exceptionally lucky on this front - no student loans ever! Well, until now. Sad face.) because doctoral programs are EXPENSIVE. No joke. So now we are up to date. This brief synopsis is intended to capture your attention instead of falling into TL;DR territory. And bring you to why the blog exists. While I travel along on this doctoral journey I hope to share some snippets (periodically, perhaps more often than periodically, maybe even frequently) along with keep myself sane (ha ha! as if that's ever a possibility!). Welcome to the ride.