A Thought and a Half | Southern Food & Lifestyle Blog

Life as a Second-Semester Grad Student

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Back in August, I wrote about my first week of grad school. At that time, I was in “boot camp,” which was our 3-week, pre-semester crash courses in photography and videography, graphic design and web development. Looking back, it’s hilarious how much I thought I knew and how much I really didn’t know. After a semester, a winter term and just over a month into semester #2 (and my last semester, oh my goodness), my outlook has certainly changed.

So let’s take a look back at that post and see what’s changed since August. 

life as a second-semester grad student

 

Thoughts on that post…
I still make lots of visits to Target, Lowe’s and Bed Bath & Beyond…but definitely not daily. More like weekly or monthly. Also, BJ’s has become one of my main shopping destinations. Yay buying in bulk and saving money! 
Adobe Premiere is still not my friend, and I don’t think it ever will be. Video-making in general isn’t my thing. I’ll leave that to those who are good at it and enjoy it.

Still haven’t touched Dreamweaver since my old job at VT. Brackets is so much better.

I’ve done surprisingly well on the whole “one cup of coffee in the morning” thing. I only drink more than one cup a day or two a week. Such an improvement from undergrad! Tea has become a larger part of my diet. We’ll see how that changes come later this month and into April.

 


Prime Starbucks times: just before 8:30 am for early days, and between 9:15-10 on other days. This semester, my “early days” start at 9:30. 
Biscuitville > Bojangles. Always. 
Other thoughts…

Speaking of software that will never be my friend… Adobe Edge Animate. At least it generates all the code for me. That’s nice. I feel pretty good about Photoshop and Illustrator, though! 
It’s crazy to me that it’s already March. Like, really…March? 

And about that job search…well, it’s going. It’s hard, but I knew it would be. I’m hoping that starting early will prove beneficial down the road.
Weeks until graduation: 12. Current level of panic: not…terrible. Yet.

How’s your life lately?

Everyday Thoughts from the Mind of a Grad Student

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grad school

Oh, is that really my alarm going off already? I swear it feels like I just fell asleep ten minutes ago. Ugh. Well, I guess I should get up and get moving.

Did I really pick out this outfit last night? Man, I should never pick clothes when I’m that exhausted. What was I thinking? Let’s try again. Wait, what’s the weather supposed to be today? Only in the high 60s? Well, leggings and a sweatshirt it is. Or maybe I should wear jeans and look like a normal, functioning human. Maybe.

Oh, I guess. Besides, these Tommy Hilfiger jeans I just bought are awesome and the world needs to see them.

Okay, before I do anything else, I need coffee. That’ll wake me up. Do I have enough to make a second or third cup to take to class? I hope so. Oh good, I do. Thank Jesus.

I really don’t feel like wearing makeup today. Can I get away with looking like a ragamuffin? Doubtful. I can put half of my face on. That counts.

Man, I could get through morning classes in undergrad with no problem. Why are they so difficult to get through now?

I’m hungry. Pretty hungry. Really hungry. I should eat more breakfast in the mornings.

Why is it so darn cold in this building? I should bring a blanket. Looks like I’ll be rocking layers upon layers when the weather gets cold. Which reminds me, I need to find some more long-sleeve shirts for layering purposes.

I want more coffee. Scratch that, I need more coffee. Always.

Oh thank God, it’s lunch time. Should I be a good student and be productive, or give my brain a rest to recharge before class? Maybe I’ll take a little break and then get some work done. That’s a good mix. What blogs do I need to catch up on reading? What’s good on Pinterest today?

[An hour and a half later…]

Oh crap, well that time went by quickly. And now I have 25 minutes to be productive. There went that notion.

Just one more class. That’s not bad, is it? What homework do I have to do tonight? What’s due immediately and what can I push back a little bit? What can I afford to push back a little?

I need to go to the grocery store. I’m running out of food at home. Maybe I’ll make a list now while it’s fresh on my mind. Let’s see, apples, berries, granola bars, chicken, cheese… oh wait, when did he say that exam is? Next week? Manageable.

[At home, after class…]

I have zero motivation to do homework right now. But I really need to get these assignments done so I can relax this weekend. The struggle is real.

Wait, I can knock out some smaller assignments now…those won’t take too long. Yeah, I’ll do that.

[Three hours later…]

Oh, dinner would be a good idea. Lean Cuisine it is.

What’s on Netflix? What football game is on tonight? Wait, Netflix would kill my productivity, and I’m actually doing pretty well right now. Sigh. No Netflix. Slug through it.

Ugh. If I make a cup of tea, I will get drowsy. I can’t get drowsy yet.

Well, I feel like I got something done. I feel kind of good about myself. Good enough to go to sleep.

And I can have my tea now.

 

Life as a Grad Student: Week One

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That’s right, I made it through the first week of iMedia “Boot Camp” digital workshops, and everything else that comes with my new grad-student life. This includes and is not limited to:





– Multiple trips to Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Lowes Foods, and more.
– Multiple trips to the above stores in one day.
– Getting my new Elon student ID card. I guess this means I’m an official grad student now?
– Locking myself out of my apartment because the door handle broke. At least I thought it broke.
– Learning that the maintenance guy probably thinks I’m nutty as a fruitcake because of the above instance and how it happened.*
– Learning that Adobe Premiere is not my friend.
– Neither is carrying around a tripod every day. But that Canon EOS 7D camera was super nice.



– Trying to recall everything I learned about Adobe Dreamweaver from my tech writing job at VT for the HTML/CSS workshop in a couple weeks. 
– Finding an adorable store in Elon called All that JAS and realizing that I cannot go there every day over my lunch break because my bank account would dry up faster than rain in the desert.
– Figuring out the best time(s) to stop by Starbucks before heading to campus.
– Reminding myself that I only need one cup of coffee in the mornings.
– Finding the best places to eat in town. My favorite find so far: Brixx Pizza in a nearby shopping center. I just might become a pizza person again.  
– And Biscuitville. Move over, Bojangles. 
– Convincing myself that my 12-pack of vanilla Coke Zero will last the entire semester. Or at least until fall break…maybe that’s more realistic. 
– I need to make a list of possible places to apply for jobs, like, NOW. 



– The next 10 months are going to be a whirlwind of Adobe programs, research, lots of reading and writing, and getting to know my wonderful classmates and professors. 
– I’m absolutely 110% ready for it. 
*I tried to open my door and heard a crack, panicked, ran down to my complex’s office, told them my door handle broke and I couldn’t get into my apartment. They sent a maintenance guy to install a new handle. He lifted the handle UP (instead of pushing it down, like I usually do and was showing him) and my door slid right open. I still got the new handle. 
Bring it on, week 2!

I swear, every campus in America is under some form of construction.



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