That time I finished my first term of grad school
Hello, it’s me. The Canadian-in-America person in your life.
You may be wondering where I’ve been for the past three months, if not writing this blog. I, too, have that same question, as I’m not entirely sure where the past term went. You read that correctly: I am finished with my first term of graduate school.
Since mastering the one-way streets of Corvallis (haha – just kidding, that’s not going to happen), plenty has happened over the fall term. Next to managing to keep two plants alive, my biggest news is that I absolutely love my program. I can say that safely now, having gotten all of my grades back. But in all seriousness, I love what I’m doing. My days are brimming with meetings, classes, students, programs, readings, coffee, impossibly cool people, sass, and a lot of excitement over the field I get to be a part of. I haven’t felt this way since I was a Residence Coordinator, so I think that’s a good indicator that I’m right where I need to be.
So much has happened in the past 11 weeks that I’m not entirely sure where to begin. Actually, I do know, so here is a list:
TEN THINGS I LEARNED IN FALL TERM
TEN THINGS I LEARNED IN FALL TERM
1. Let’s start off with something really startling that I only realized about one week into the term. I am a college student, studying college students. Therefore, I am studying myself. As my Masters degree. What even. Okay, now that that’s out of the way…
2. I have been told on numerous occasions that I have a Canadian accent. Words that I pronounce interestingly include: mobile, bag, pasta, about, sorry, and pretty much anything with an ‘a.’ I have also learned that there are many types of American accents, and each depend on how the vowels are pronounced. See? Grad school! I’m learning SO MUCH!
3. On that note, when you mix up “Mizzou” with “Missoula,” your Canadian-ness will show and your first-year students will not let you live it down.
4. I’m obsessed with my cohort. Like, really obsessed. They are totally my people. I feel especially fortunate to have found a handful of friends that get as excited about student development theory, leadership, glitter tumblers, and colour-coded spreadsheets as myself.
5. Football is everything. I should explain: although I have a very limited understanding of the game (and have almost no intention of learning), college football culture is unreal. On Friday nights, the marching band storm the pubs in downtown Corvallis. And then on Saturday mornings, the entire campus is filled with tailgating tents until the actual game. Game-day weekends are an incredible reminder of the amazing amount of school spirit that comes from living in a college town. Plus, at my first-ever tailgate, I was introduced to a pug puppy. College is great.
6. Having attended a very large university will apparently forever distort your idea of what a normal-sized university should look like. What do you mean, there’s only one pizza place on campus? Are you sure there’s only one library here? Why do I have to walk outside to get to the nearest Starbucks? Things feel strange, and sometimes small, after you attend university in a campus-city.
7. Everything is harder as an international student. I could write a novel about this one point, but for now I will just say that aligning all of the moving parts in order to just live in the US was more difficult than any of my graduate coursework. So, there’s that.
8. This isn’t so much as something I’ve learned, but a musing: is there a word for when you think you see someone you know, but then realize it can’t be the person you know because you’re hundreds of miles away from said person? This happens to me all the time on campus. As a result, I am often staring at people for way longer than I should be. It’s weird for everyone involved.
9. Totem Park was apparently a way more formative experience than I ever anticipated, because at this moment it appears to be the inspiration for my thesis. Funny how things happen, right?
10. In between all of the nuances, the past few months have delivered me an extraordinary amount of personal growth. This is the first time, in a long time, that I’m truly excited about what I’m doing/learning. Don’t get me wrong – I love English. All those nights spent arguing the importance of the storm metaphor in every Shakespeare play? Totally, um, blissful. But this term I wrote 16 pages about student development theory and was actually sad to write the conclusion. And every time I talk to my Advisor about my thesis I get ridiculously excited that I get to write about something as meaningful and fascinating as my topic. I’m getting a better sense of what I want to do after graduate school, which seemed to be a far-away dream a few months ago. I feel like I’m finding a strong sense of who I am; I just can’t believe it took for me to be plucked from my normal life at home to find that.
6. Having attended a very large university will apparently forever distort your idea of what a normal-sized university should look like. What do you mean, there’s only one pizza place on campus? Are you sure there’s only one library here? Why do I have to walk outside to get to the nearest Starbucks? Things feel strange, and sometimes small, after you attend university in a campus-city.
7. Everything is harder as an international student. I could write a novel about this one point, but for now I will just say that aligning all of the moving parts in order to just live in the US was more difficult than any of my graduate coursework. So, there’s that.
8. This isn’t so much as something I’ve learned, but a musing: is there a word for when you think you see someone you know, but then realize it can’t be the person you know because you’re hundreds of miles away from said person? This happens to me all the time on campus. As a result, I am often staring at people for way longer than I should be. It’s weird for everyone involved.
9. Totem Park was apparently a way more formative experience than I ever anticipated, because at this moment it appears to be the inspiration for my thesis. Funny how things happen, right?
10. In between all of the nuances, the past few months have delivered me an extraordinary amount of personal growth. This is the first time, in a long time, that I’m truly excited about what I’m doing/learning. Don’t get me wrong – I love English. All those nights spent arguing the importance of the storm metaphor in every Shakespeare play? Totally, um, blissful. But this term I wrote 16 pages about student development theory and was actually sad to write the conclusion. And every time I talk to my Advisor about my thesis I get ridiculously excited that I get to write about something as meaningful and fascinating as my topic. I’m getting a better sense of what I want to do after graduate school, which seemed to be a far-away dream a few months ago. I feel like I’m finding a strong sense of who I am; I just can’t believe it took for me to be plucked from my normal life at home to find that.
Those are the big things. There’s lots more, but we’ll save that for another day. This Saturday I say goodbye to cute lil’ Corvallis for a few weeks and head home for the holidays. Aside from seeing family and friends, I am excited for mountain and ocean views, Granville Island winter ale, and sushi. No one here has heard of a yam tempura roll, which is worrisome. People have told me that there are ‘good sushi places’ in Corvallis, but if there is no yam tempura roll on the menu, I just won’t believe them.
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