Validation

So today I had two separate chat conversations with friends about life. They both seemed to marvel at the fact that I moved out to FL on my own for grad school. Once again, I always seem to forget how things that seem little and unimpressive to me, really are impressive. Not the act of going to graduate school, but the act of moving halfway across the country for it. And driving by myself, none the less. It just reminded me what an awesome person I am.

Everyone is an awesome person in their own right and sometimes we're so busy living life that we forget to stop and take notice. So in addition to starting every day dancing in front of my member and reminding myself of everything I like about my life, I will also be reminding myself of how awesome I am. This routine will become increasingly important as I embark on the next chapter of my life, grad school.

This blog was initially meant to be about my journey through grad school but has slowly evolved into an almost tell-all. However, as my last free weekend before grad school starts I am finally starting to realize what it is that I am getting myself into. I had orientation earlier this week, and when I walked into the room I felt like I was walking into a staff meeting that I wasn't supposed to be in. Granted, the orientation was for both Doctoral and Masters students, with the majority being Doctoral, I quickly realized that this was not going to be like Undergrad. I knew that it would not be like undergrad and that I would probably be the youngest person in my cohort, but you don't believe it until you see it. In any case, I have been acting current and former grad students what to expect, as well as searching relevant forums. The gist seems to be to not let it stress me out, to make sure I set aside time for a social life, to get to know my cohort and faculty members well and to enjoy it.

I am actually really excited about being a graduate student. And although I know my innocent and naïve illusions of how much fun it will be will probably be crushed within the first few weeks, I'm going to enjoy this feeling while it lasts and remember it when I reach the point in the semester when I begin to ask myself what the hell I was thinking.