Hurray!
Woohoo! Today I officially graduated with a master's in history from ASU. I suppose it's only natural that I would compare and contrast my graduation from USC last year with this graduation. Aside from the fact that the ceremoney looked like a poorly run high school drama club production, I felt much more accomplished this time around. Maybe it's because I got to wear a bitchin hood and walk around like I was hot shit. Or maybe it's because I felt like I had to work a lot harder.
Sadly enough, my last semester at USC was a bit of a drag for me. I was so mired in the depths of an agitated, yet ruthless depression that I ended up being a part time student because I was only taking two classes. In contrast, this year, I ended on a high note, with a successful and enjoyable thesis defense. I was laughing because some of the girls in the department were asking me about my defense and they seemed so afraid of having to talk about their own research. I was like, dude, I would do it again if I had the opportunity.
That's the supergirl in me. In some social situations, I can be slightly shy. In others, I am the life of the party. That's part of the reason I chose academics actually. I don't want to get a job at a research university necessarily. I'd love to work at a teaching college because I like lecturing and dare I say, I'm good at it.
My bipolar swings have been subdued quite a bit in the past few weeks. In the past, periods of relative calm have typically been followed by a major fluctuation in my physical and mental state. My only current issue is that I'm utterly exhausted. I don't have a good excuse; watching four seasons of CSI in five days shouldn't be strenuous. I feel like my body is still running on the adrenaline it fed off of while I was tunneled in on my thesis.
I'm getting out of that mindset now, I think. I don't know if other people get like that. Honestly, when my mind is wrapped around something or piqued by something, I forget about other obligations. It's like only my mind and its pursuit exist. Everything else gets put on hold.
For example, I was driving around yesterday and it hit me that we really are in the Christmas season. People have had their lights on since December 1st in my development, but I just absorbed the fact that crap, I need to make a budget and do Christmas shopping and decorating, not to mention writing my Christmas card extravaganza and finding the ridiculous amount of Christmas music I downloaded while Napster was in its glory days.
Alas, all is merry and bright.
I'm totally proud of myself and I think I can ride this high through the holidays.
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Sadly enough, my last semester at USC was a bit of a drag for me. I was so mired in the depths of an agitated, yet ruthless depression that I ended up being a part time student because I was only taking two classes. In contrast, this year, I ended on a high note, with a successful and enjoyable thesis defense. I was laughing because some of the girls in the department were asking me about my defense and they seemed so afraid of having to talk about their own research. I was like, dude, I would do it again if I had the opportunity.
That's the supergirl in me. In some social situations, I can be slightly shy. In others, I am the life of the party. That's part of the reason I chose academics actually. I don't want to get a job at a research university necessarily. I'd love to work at a teaching college because I like lecturing and dare I say, I'm good at it.
My bipolar swings have been subdued quite a bit in the past few weeks. In the past, periods of relative calm have typically been followed by a major fluctuation in my physical and mental state. My only current issue is that I'm utterly exhausted. I don't have a good excuse; watching four seasons of CSI in five days shouldn't be strenuous. I feel like my body is still running on the adrenaline it fed off of while I was tunneled in on my thesis.
I'm getting out of that mindset now, I think. I don't know if other people get like that. Honestly, when my mind is wrapped around something or piqued by something, I forget about other obligations. It's like only my mind and its pursuit exist. Everything else gets put on hold.
For example, I was driving around yesterday and it hit me that we really are in the Christmas season. People have had their lights on since December 1st in my development, but I just absorbed the fact that crap, I need to make a budget and do Christmas shopping and decorating, not to mention writing my Christmas card extravaganza and finding the ridiculous amount of Christmas music I downloaded while Napster was in its glory days.
Alas, all is merry and bright.
I'm totally proud of myself and I think I can ride this high through the holidays.
|
posted by Becky at 6:20 PM
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