Countdown to the first day of school... again. How did I get here?

Am I insane? yes. I am finishing my M.S. in Public Communication & Technology at Colorado State University (writing the thesis) and now cranking it into high gear to get my data collected before May.  Why May you ask? Because after 6 years of working in the "real world" I have realized that now is the time to pursue my dreams.  Since high school, I have wanted to be a "doctor." My parents wanted me to be a nurse. Now I have decided to go somewhere in-between and become a PA.  

Once the ball started rolling towards PA school, it all seemed to happen pretty fast. First, I enrolled in a graduate level Immunology course at CU Denver to boost my science GPA.  I also enrolled in the online Human A&P I and II sequence (prereq's at every PA program).  Whatdya know?? Five years after my last science class, I can still get an A!!

I also started volunteering in the ER at Exempla St. Joseph's Hospital in May of '08. I shadowed a PA (Mr. Milner) most of the time, so I apologize to the volunteer staff at St. Joe's because I didn't do a lot of "volunteering" unless you call getting coffee for Mr. Milner an act of selflessness.

Next step: quitting the desk job. Except for the huge pay cut, working at The Children's Hospital - instead of shuffling papers around, listening to people complain about their budgets, and trying to decipher my boss's manic, tangental rants - seemed like a vacation.  Since July '08, I have had a great time learning about patient care, psychiatry and working with a great group of folks.  I haven't found a PA to work with since Children's employs mainly NPs, but that hasn't dissuaded me from becoming a PA.

Finally, I spent many hours online filling out CASPA, ordering GRE scores, and obsessing over online PA forums.  Medical College of Georgia was the only non-CASPA program I applied to.  Strangely, MCG is the first and only interview and acceptance I got.  After getting the call from MCG, I withdrew my other applications.  

So, now it's January and my next steps are finding out how I'm going to pay for school.  Wish me luck!