I just finished another Fall Semester. I have not stopped and counted the number of quarters/semesters I have attended college. This is something like the ending of my 26th semester (I'm actually not joking about that.).
This has been a really weird semester, for so many reasons.
-I'm no longer taking classes full-time, but am still a full-time student.
-I passed my comprehensive exams, but have not moved onto a set dissertation yet.
-I have shifted my area of focus and am much more involved with a new advisor, which has required getting-to-know a style of mentoring that is in near-complete opposition to the advisor I have been working with the past two years.
-The research project I'd planned to run, analyze, and finish by now got waylaid for two months and is still in full swing.
-I feel very behind.
-And a friend and classmate completely unexpectedly passed away, which was awful and gutwrenching. Ugh.
I am relieved the semester is over. I do not believe, in fact, that I've ever been more relieved to be done with a semester.
But, ironically, never have I ever felt so completely anti-climactic at the end of a semester. In the past, a semester marked an ending, the promise of a new start with new classes, new projects. All of the aforementioned tasks just continue on. Nothing has ended and nothing will start anew as a result of this new semester. It's just life ticking ever onward.
For now, I relish in the two weeks I get to spend at home away from the end of the semester, away from the start of the semester, just....away.
My plan is to recharge, reorient, and refocus. That's a lot of re-ing. Wish me luck.
1 comment:
Wow, what craziness... So sorry to hear about your friend, my heart goes out to you....
Hope your time off re-ing brought the peace and focus you were looking for.
You do so much, you amaze me. Love to read your posts.
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