Hitting the Ground Running

I finally attended ALL 3 of my graduate courses at UT after the school week starting on a Wednesday and Monday being Labor Day. Finally, I was able to meet all of my professors and read all of the syllabi to finally see what I am up against this semester. I'm not going to lie... It's quite a bit of work but I ready to push through. At this moment at 9:53 PM on Monday, September 11th, I am tired after being in class from 9 AM to 5 PM (or a full day of work, tbh). My initial thoughts are that each of my graduate courses have a distinct atmosphere in each room, whereas one is open, blunt and honest, other is nurturing, loving and supportive, and other is intense, straight-forward and daunting. These dynamic atmospheres have a different way of influencing me to develop skills to survive in these rigorous courses. But ultimately, I can finally weigh each class based on their work loads and scheduling out time in my day to work on papers, readings and presentations all in one.

I think the definite noticeable different between graduate and undergraduate course work is how already demanding the semester is within the first week (which is understandable because these classes are once a week and equate about 3 weeks in one session). But also the already daunting presence of the course presentations and facilitation that I already have to lead....

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Now, it is September 21st at 11:30 AM, the difference between the beginning of this post and right now is definitely interesting to read. I've gotten pretty caught up reading and studying for my course that my blog had to be on the back burner for the time being. Recently, I've developed a work schedule for my readings, trying to manage my time and making sure I'm not too hard on myself if I don't complete my daily check list. It's been a process getting in the habit of my day, organizing my notes and anything in between. I've become more meta-cognitive about how I work and what I need in my work environment definitely. Coffee shops have been my holy grail and just being around other people studying and reading helps me. I also realize that if I am not in the mind-state to read or work, that I don't force myself to do so, but just come back to the work later. It is all been a progress.

I feel like each classroom environment is so unique... Two courses I have with my entire cohort but yet, having the same makeup of people, the external factors of professors leading the course, additional classmates, and workload makes these space very, very different. So, far my classes have made me re-think how I think, questioning if what I say has importance or not, and remaining critical of the readings before me. Mostly, it just questioning your questions, tbh. But it's giving me more to think about each day.

#BlackGradsMatter #BlackGirlMagic #Studying #Adjusting #Affirmation