#thanks: grad school life

It was hard to pick something that I was extremely thankful for today because it was pretty dull day.

I unintentionally slept in, couldn’t accomplish all the things I wanted to and still find myself so far behind than I should be in my list of homework. But in the midst of all the stress and work I have looming over the rest of my weekend, I am so thankful that I am getting an education.

Not very many people enjoy being a student, but I love it. I enjoy learning new things all the time and find myself looking for new things to teach myself. My second strength according to Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath is that I am a learner.

Unlike some of the other people in my graduate program, I came straight out of my undergrad and into grad school. I didn’t want to take a year off and “find myself” or spend it trying to apply for jobs. My mindset was still on being a student and I thought that it would help make me more successful.

There are some days when I think about how I’m going to classes 4 days a week and how I would rather be doing something else, especially when I know that my weekend will be full of homework and reading and more homework, that I realize that I’m not taking full advantage of this opportunity.

I remember going to Zambia and seeing poor children and teenagers fighting for their education and still find themselves much farther behind in their education than their American counterparts. I met an 18 year old that was still in the 6th grade. For them school takes a back burner to being able to provide for their families and just surviving. I want for nothing. I should be a better student because that’s my job – I don’t have to worry about taking care of my family and surviving the everyday.

While there will be days this month that I am thankful that I get to go out on adventures with my grad school friends, grad school life is more about the time I spend sitting in my apartment with an open book or typing up papers on my computer. It’s about the number of cups of coffee it takes to make sure I’m awake while I do research.

It’s about knowing that next summer, I’ll have another sheet of paper that says I’ve graduated. This time though, it’ll say I’ve earned a Master’s Degree, that I’m an expert in my given field (yay sports journalism!) and that I worked hard for it.

Previous day:

November 1: Indianapolis