My friend Brian of Listen to Brian fame, just sent me this email Re: Graduate School. It's an awesome email that totally just kicked my ass and got my head on straight and I don't even think that was what he intended when he wrote it, but it's exactly what I needed. A grounding reminder that this M.A. isn't going to be all "la la la la wheeee degree!" and more pedal to the metal working my ass off because I need to and owe it to my damn self.
And so I am reprinting it here to remind me that life is not, in fact, not a bowl of cherries and I am not entitled to anything that I am not willing to work hard to give myself.
Well, you're basically in the same boat I am. I'm going part time, working full time. It's hell, I'm warning you. I don't know what the workload's like for you, but for an MA in Philosophy, it's insane, the amount of work. This whole semester was just one big wash. It helps to have friends who understand that you're not ignoring them because you don't like them. You're ignoring them because you're following your dreams.
My advice is to first, wind down your social calendar, my little busy bee. Second, sit your friends down, seriously, whenever you see them, say "Listen, what I'm doing is extremely important but it means I will have, not less, but literally NO time to spend with you over the next few months. If you need me, I won't be there. It may suck. You may not want to be my friend anymore, and I understand if it makes you upset, but, for now, this is the most important thing in my life and I didn't go through the trouble of getting in, just to skate by." Well, you can paraphrase. But there really is no easy way to set your friends, and not to mention family members, up for the supreme disappointment of constantly hearing "no" everytime they ask to see you. Just ask Bob. It's funny. He calls me every weekend to meet him at the bar, knowing full well I can't. But I always tell him to keep calling cause eventually I can. He's really understanding about it.
Just be glad you don't have a boyfriend. [EightK says: Bwahahahahahahaha! Having a boyfriend would first entail being able to attract a decent guy. And we've all seen my track record on that one.] I know, it's something we've lamented about in the past, but BELIEVE me, it will make what you're about to take on a lot easier.
More advice: Throw the TV out of the room. Find a cool coffee shop that stays open late to study (much easier here in the city, I admit). Don't even think about watching Lost, 24, Grey's Anatomy, etc. Don't get attached to anything like that.
You know, writing this, I'm thinking maybe this just works for me. I don't know. But it's what I had to do. It just doesn't work otherwise. I'll tell you what though. It makes smelling the spring flowers that much sweeter, now that I have time to do that. Of course, I know, once the break is over, it's time to work.
One of the classes I'm taking in the Fall is at West Chester, so maybe we can get together sometime. --- That was a test. If you were thinking "Yeah, sounds cool," you failed! You should've immediately went, "Brian, I wish I could but I'm pretty sure my social calendar will be locked in a drawer from September through December. But let's get together around Christmas." You see how easy that was?
Anyway, I'm rambling. Actually, I was rambling 5 paragraphs ago. Now I'm just preventing the urge to return to work. No, I did that 2 paragraphs ago. Now I'm just talking to my friend Katie, hoping she appeciates not just the hard work she's about endeavor, but the immense satisfaction it entails, and realizes most people don't even get this far.
And so I am reprinting it here to remind me that life is not, in fact, not a bowl of cherries and I am not entitled to anything that I am not willing to work hard to give myself.
Well, you're basically in the same boat I am. I'm going part time, working full time. It's hell, I'm warning you. I don't know what the workload's like for you, but for an MA in Philosophy, it's insane, the amount of work. This whole semester was just one big wash. It helps to have friends who understand that you're not ignoring them because you don't like them. You're ignoring them because you're following your dreams.
My advice is to first, wind down your social calendar, my little busy bee. Second, sit your friends down, seriously, whenever you see them, say "Listen, what I'm doing is extremely important but it means I will have, not less, but literally NO time to spend with you over the next few months. If you need me, I won't be there. It may suck. You may not want to be my friend anymore, and I understand if it makes you upset, but, for now, this is the most important thing in my life and I didn't go through the trouble of getting in, just to skate by." Well, you can paraphrase. But there really is no easy way to set your friends, and not to mention family members, up for the supreme disappointment of constantly hearing "no" everytime they ask to see you. Just ask Bob. It's funny. He calls me every weekend to meet him at the bar, knowing full well I can't. But I always tell him to keep calling cause eventually I can. He's really understanding about it.
Just be glad you don't have a boyfriend. [EightK says: Bwahahahahahahaha! Having a boyfriend would first entail being able to attract a decent guy. And we've all seen my track record on that one.] I know, it's something we've lamented about in the past, but BELIEVE me, it will make what you're about to take on a lot easier.
More advice: Throw the TV out of the room. Find a cool coffee shop that stays open late to study (much easier here in the city, I admit). Don't even think about watching Lost, 24, Grey's Anatomy, etc. Don't get attached to anything like that.
You know, writing this, I'm thinking maybe this just works for me. I don't know. But it's what I had to do. It just doesn't work otherwise. I'll tell you what though. It makes smelling the spring flowers that much sweeter, now that I have time to do that. Of course, I know, once the break is over, it's time to work.
One of the classes I'm taking in the Fall is at West Chester, so maybe we can get together sometime. --- That was a test. If you were thinking "Yeah, sounds cool," you failed! You should've immediately went, "Brian, I wish I could but I'm pretty sure my social calendar will be locked in a drawer from September through December. But let's get together around Christmas." You see how easy that was?
Anyway, I'm rambling. Actually, I was rambling 5 paragraphs ago. Now I'm just preventing the urge to return to work. No, I did that 2 paragraphs ago. Now I'm just talking to my friend Katie, hoping she appeciates not just the hard work she's about endeavor, but the immense satisfaction it entails, and realizes most people don't even get this far.
1 Comments:
True. True.
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