Week One of Grad School

So I've finished my first week of grad school, which I feel has been one of the most productive weeks I've had in a very long time. I've wavered between feeling completely overwhelmed and feeling slightly confident. It's definitely a challenge for me, but I know I'm going to have to communicate with everyone in my program to make sure I do as well as I can. We all have different areas and levels of expertise. I've already noticed how different this is from undergrad, where you could just go to class, keep to yourself, study, and excel. Speaking of Excel, I realized today just how much I've forgotten about using the program for stats/visual data when trying to work on an assignment for my Experimental Approaches class. I got it done, but I'm sure there is a much easier way to do everything. The assignment isn't graded, but it does give me an idea of what I need to do to get back up to speed. On the other hand, it's amazing how much simply working on a dataset will help you remember.


I'm finally facing real challenges academically, and that's kind of scary. But I've managed some pretty crazy shit before, so maybe I can do this.

Thanks to everyone who continues to support me in all of this. Every little reassurance has helped in some way. I never thought I'd be able to handle all of this while trying to move into and organize an apartment. I never thought I'd be able to deal with the long commute. But I feel energized, even when I'm exhausted. I feel both disorganized and organized at the same time, but I'm sure that will get sorted out as I settle into my routine. I'm still sad in a lot of ways. I'm worried about a lot of things, and doing a distance relationship is extremely difficult emotionally. But I know we will be okay as long as we prioritize communication and cherish the time we do get to spend together.

I'm not sure what tomorrow holds, but I may try to tackle the figures for the Journal Club article, even though I have one more week to take care of that. This semester is focused on molecular stuff, while next semester is focused on cognitive, which I would prefer. There's that need to collaborate to make sure I'm really getting the right ideas. I'm figuring out my weaknesses early on to make sure I can focus on them before they cause any problems.

I just might be able to pull this off. I'm sure getting back to the gym yesterday has helped to shift my mindset. I've been studying all morning, but I'm planning on heading to Freddie's tonight if anyone wants to join me, if I can get a ride home since the bus stops running pretty early (11 pm or so). I'm hoping to reschedule performances this week now that I have my exam/assignment schedules.