Global Girl

So, because my life as a graduate student has taken up so much of my time, I have been very neglectful to my blog. However, over the past month, I have been learning tons of new information. I have learned a lot about Latin America and have been entering into the world of Latin Americanists in Washington, DC. For this information, check out my Twitter, which I have been much more dedicated to in the last month. I have also learned a lot about what it takes to be a graduate student. I thought I would share with you all ten lessons that I have learned over the past few months.

Ten Lessons of Surviving Graduate School:

1. There is a lot of reading. Like Nike says, “Just do it.”
2. There is a lot of reading. If you can’t do it, or waited until the last minute, read the introduction and conclusion and pick out the argument. That is all the teacher will want in the long run anyway and probably the only thing you will remember about the book.
3. Remember when you were a mere little undergraduate, and you felt really smart a lot of the time? Well, in Graduate School everybody is intimidatingly smart. Suck it up. You can’t be the best at everything. Instead use this wealth of knowledge to your benefit and for inspiration!
4. On a good note, you will learn about lots of things that really interest you. Take advantage of this…
5. Especially take advantage of #4 because learning about things that really interest you will pretty much be the only thing that you will be doing over the next year or two.
6. With all this stress, exercise is a must. Get that stress out! Personally, I started Bikrim Yoga, which is a great stress killer.
7. Get a group together within your program to study/share the misery of being so busy. It will help you stay motivated and study, and it will also help when all you need is a few minutes of ranting about school!
8. Network. Network. Network! NETWORK! After all, you do want a job after these years of stress! (Plus, networking could be a good excuse to go to a happy hour or two if you need!)
9. A professor said to us at the beginning of the semester, “Don’t make your professor feel like you know more than they do on the subject that they are teaching. That is just a bad idea.” You would think that this is obvious, but in my experience, it is not.
10. Take advantage of every minute. When Graduate School is over, and you’re in the real world, you probably will be looking back on it thinking, “Ahh, those were the days…”

Well, I hope this helps people who are in grad school/thinking about going into grad school! Enjoy!