Gradlife

Jump to Comments

Well, thesis deadline soon approaches (ahem, tomorrow) and I am finishing off the final edits of my research. Not generally a procrastinator, I have had trouble finding the right head-space to get those last revisions onto paper. I have found myself somewhat immobilized in the process, finding myself staring blankly at a computer screen until I decide [insert point in time I should be writing] just isn’t working for me (I’ll try again tomorrow). Somewhat perturbed by this out-of-character development, it was my partner who suggested that maybe it’s because somewhere in my mind I don’t want to finish THE LAST PAPER I’LL EVER WRITE (I imagine my subconscious would use caps for emphasis).

 

I think there may be some truth to this avoidance-of-completing-thesis-because-I-don’t-know-what-is-next hypothesis. I mean I know that there are many opportunities to keep writing and researching once my program ends. I know that further institutional education isn’t disappearing completely off the horizon ahead. Further, I know many rich educational experiences happen outside of the classroom, and new ideas are just a book or a film or a poem or a conversation away.

But there is just something about grad school, don’t you think?

In reflection, there are a few things in particular I will miss:

1. The quiet of campus (and libraries) in the summer, and the returned energy once Frosh Week hits in September.
2. Finding oneself talking for hours over coffee with a new classmate, who turns into a great friend, who you’d been missing your whole life and didn’t know.
3. Random social events that come with free food and/or drinks (“I came for the cookies!”). It’s even better when the event itself ends up being awesome.
4. The smell of spring, and getting lost in a book in the University College, or Trinity College quad (or here’s another idea).
5. The brilliant company that I have been privileged to learn from.

 

Reflecting on the things I will miss, I recognize it is okay to be hesitant to put it behind. An avid book reader myself, I find it helpful to remember that even the best chapters can be followed by similarly amazing ones, even if they are completely different. All it takes is the turn of the page – and in my case…just a few more revisions.