how i survived the first week of graduate school

"At first I was afraid, I was petrified..."

The last couple of weeks was kinda tough because I had to get up real early everyday, drive clear to the other side of town (or ride the bus, or hustle rides), walk into a completely foreign environment, learn my way around in it, try to fit in as best as I can and pay attention to everything (because who knows what might end up being important later). Diving into strange situations and learning to swim is generally something I'm good at that most of the time.

But this past week was the first week of "real" classes. Whew! I knew it would be hard and all, but day-mn! GTEP will kick you in the butt, fo' real. For those of you who are actually wondering, I'm out of the house from 8am-6pm, then I get to come home, eat dinner, read 100 pages a night and fall in bed. It's not like I didn't know what I was getting myself into...I've been watching Margo go through this all this year and I can see how it all pans out in real life. You don't have time for SHIT. But I'm insane and still tutoring some kids on the side. But other than that, I'm not doing any other work. Too tired. I spend my weekends studying, pretty much the whole time and break it up with "fun activities" like chores.

"But then I spent so many nights, thinking how you did me wrong, And I grew strong, And I learned how to get along"

I had to put up with a lot of crap just to get to this point. And although this is one of the hardest things I've ever been through, and in spite of the drowning feeling I have right now, I'm thinking I'll be alright. While I'm just barely treading water in some situations, in others I'm on top of my game. I've gotten really into appreciating the small things in life (like looking out the bus windows at the dogwoods, azaleas and rhododendrons blooming outside), mowing my lawn meditatively with the pushmower, and pretty much anything that's not explicitly school-related.

"Did you think I'd crumble, Did you think I'd lay down and die, Oh no, not I, I will survive...I will survive (hey-hey)"

One day at a time...that's where I'm at these days. One day at a time.