If you have this blog bookmarked (and even if you don't) you may have noticed the name is "aliciagoestolifeschool." You may be wondering the origin of this url (or maybe not.)
With the exception of a few of my friends (shout out to the crew, #5guysandanoshlag), most people my age are in, or are graduating from, "grad school" of some kind. Now that a college diploma is worth what a high school degree once was and a high school degree has significantly depreciated in value, grad school is the next move for many of us in our twenties who are still a little unsure about the world and our future in it.
If you have figured out what you want to do, or are doing something else before going to school, or haven't finished school yet already find yourself knowing your path, or you pulled a Zuckerberg and left school because it wasn't for you or because you wanted to work (and stumbled into billionaire life), color me impressed. These are sincere and honest decisions and come from within.
My experience is that universities have become bubbles for many of us-- we are comfortable and feel protected by the environment that academia provides. Because we are taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans, meaning the money isn't ours, combined with the fact that we don't feel the effects of this debt until after we are done with school, we have found ways to continue on in our safe academic womb for longer than any generation before us.
When I started telling people I was going to Rabbinical School, many misheard "Medical School." I worked on the clear pronunciation of "rabbinical" after many elated smiles and enthusiastic grins turned into quizzical looks upon my correction of said miscommunication. Though I always say that in my next life I'm going to be a gastroenterologist because I'm already a colon expert and desperately want a seat at the doctor's table, what comes out of people interests me much less than that which is already inside them. When we pray the MiSheberach (healing) prayer during the Torah service, we pray not only for bodily recovery for our loved ones, but also for refu'at ha-nefesh. The latter is the kind of doctoring and science that holds my attention.
A very smart woman I know always says, "medicine is an art, not a science." There is a lot of trial and error involved in the diagnosis and eradication of any condition. A skilled doctor looks at the whole body, as well as each individual symptom, to figure out the best and most effective treatment or balance of medications (another art). Many may argue that doctors are scientists--they go to school to learn the latest scientific methods, research, procedures, etc. to most effectively treat their patients. I suggest we view doctors as artists because nothing can be predicted exactly--because people have had to, and continue to, color outside the strict lines of the most up-to-date science available.
So yes, I am going to school to be a scientist of the Torah and our other ancient texts, to learn how to be an effective teacher and student, to be a part of the continuity of our people. These things are the science part of this experience. The "book learning" that will allow me to go into the world and turn that knowledge into an art is what the physical schooling will provide. That learning, I would call the "Grad School" part of my experience. However these years are destined for so much more than just school. I am learning the "art" of living my life; of becoming an adult and a Rabbi.
This is why I couldn't call this blog something like "Alicia in Israel" or "Alicia in the first year of Rabbinical School." I am blessed with the way my wonderful university community (H2P) allowed me to thrive and mature in a protected, monitored environment. HUC is by no means throwing us into the deep end without our floaties--this school, too, is a caring community filled with opportunities for enrichment and growth. But there is something different about this time around. I don't feel so comforted and protected by the umbrella of academia. Perhaps it's the miles (and miles and miles) between me and the best city in the country full of mid-west heart and north-west weather. Perhaps it's the confidence everyone has in me to live out this journey. Perhaps it's because, like many people whom I admire, I have been guided to a sincere and honest desire to learn both the science and the art of my life.
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