Graduate School

Dear Blogosphere,

I have been trying to think of a word to describe my experiences so far. I have come up with two. It's both exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Here are some details:

-By the end of the quarter I will estimate that I will have read at least 3,500 pages. I read about 350-400 pages a week.
-This isn't "easy" reading by any means. For one class, we only read chapters from the Handbook of Child Psychology. These chapters make journal articles look like picture books! It makes me miss textbooks!
-I'm taking three courses. The first focuses on early development (conception through 5 years). So far we've been reading quite about about genetics and neural development. The second is where we read The Handbook. The third is sort of an independent research course. My faculty advisor and I come up with reading lists and at the end of the quarter I'll write a traditional term paper or an annotated bibliography. I ultimately want to look at romantic relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood. For now, I am getting background information about emerging adulthood and peer relationships in adolescence.
-I used to procrastinate by hanging out on Facebook or chatting on MSN. My new procrastination techniques include: hole punching, printing off articles, cooking, and reading for another class.
-After a weekend of reading, my eyes hurt so bad that I don't want to watch TV or look at a computer screen!
-In order to maintain my sanity, I have required that I leave enough time (or make enough time) in the day to do one of the following things: go on a walk, knit, or write in a journal. It keeps my brain from melting!

Now, I'm looking back on this, and it does look a little like a list of complaints. So I want to add that...

I AM LOVING THIS!

Sounds a little masochistic, perhaps, but it's like those few really, really good classes in college where you work your butt off but every minute you put into learning the information you get right back. I'm looking forward to December 11, when I sit back, relieved that the quarter is over, and am able to look back at who I was in September and smile.

I am amazed at how much information I'm processing. There's a lot of really cool concepts to wrap my head around!

Until next time,

-Natalie