Two classes down and nine to go!

What a week it has been, bloggers!

Today marks the end of my first semester of graduate school.

These past 16 weeks have been challenging, exciting, and to be completely honest, quite grueling.

The following points sum up my first semester of grad school.

Late nights and the occasional all-nighter are much more difficult to pull off in grad school. Doing these in undergrad was no problem for me. I would stay up all night, go to class, and then come home to sleep. Graduate school means staying up all night, working a demanding full-time job, and then likely having class until 9PM. Let's just say I will be budgeting my time better in future semesters.

via

The professors are completely different in grad school. They treat you as peers rather than students, and it's very cool.

It's basically just like this.

There is no busywork. This is mostly great except for those nights when you'd just kill for an easy assignment and instead are sending your poor overworked mind into a tailspin trying to think straight and finish up an assignment.

Can I please have the occasional crossword puzzle, please?

Free time? What is that? I had a very hard time adjusting to the fact that I really wasn't granted much free time anymore. Evenings and weekends are mostly consumed with projects, group work, and reading. It's pretty rough.

When times get rough, channel Hermione.

Class discussions are way more interesting. People speak because they have valuable things to say, not to gain bonus points with the professor.

It's an incredible feeling to be learning again. 

Despite the stress and pressure that grad school brings, I feel proud of myself for taking on this challenge and am truly valuing all the knowledge I am acquiring.

Of course, I am so looking forward to my winter break and getting to spend my evenings and weekends with friends, family, and books (among other things).

Two classes down and nine to go!