Sippi Lovin'

Last week, Thursday and Friday, our clinical program had prospective graduate students visiting for a final round of interviews before offers of admission are extended next month. I had been giving the weekend much thought in the months and weeks leading up to it…promising myself that I’d reflect back on all I’ve accomplished and learned in the last 365 days. Needless to say, the experience was much more enjoyable this time around. I was free to eat as many donuts in the waiting room as I felt like, free to daydream, free to admit I didn’t always know what I was doing, or even wanted from the program. I suppose I was free to be me.

There were no Minnesotans in the group this time, which snaps a two-year streak. We did, however, have a healthy contingent from the North. I would estimate that one half of the interviewees were from the Northeast and Midwest, which is roughly on par with the current departmental makeup. Folks from the West coast, however, were conspicuously absent and that too is on par with the departmental makeup. Quite honestly, I’ve seen more similarities between rural Midwesterners and Southerners than I had originally anticipated. Perhaps our common denominator is the ability to appreciate simplicity in life.

Anyway, the experience has taught me the value of caution when in the presence of thirty attentive psychologists. God forbid you should air any peculiar behavior or social oddities and as soon as you turn your back, the room explodes with clinical diagnoses. Professors and students alike, mind you! To be fair, we do get our fair share of eccentrics who would incite far more harm than good in the presence of clients.