Cleaning Up.

At the end of each semester and the end of each year it's a good time to clean things out. Purge the negativity in your life. Get rid of things that don't bring you joy. Purge the negative emotions. 

And if you're Batman, purge the city of criminals. 

It's that last reason that always kept Batman from applying for grad school. Fighting crime doesn't leave a lot of time for homework or group projects. 

Risk

Imposter phenomenon can be a common experience for grad students (and faculty and administrators and human beings). Doing things you haven't done before requires some bravery and some risk taking. But don't be ridiculous about this - like the snowperson above. C'mon Frosty, that's just dang foolish. Even if you pull off roasting that marshmallow, if you eat it, it's going to melt the mouth part of your snowhead. And then most of the rest of you.

This is just one reason why you don't see a lot of snowpeople in grad school. It's not really the main reason, but still...

Snow

December 21st is the first day of winter. A lot of people don't know that on the first day of winter Yetis and Snowpeople get together to reminisce about their days in graduate school.

A lot of people don't know that because it isn't true.

Now, shouldn't you be working ahead on reading for the spring term?

Reconnecting

Dad was surprised how much smarter the child was after this particular semester in grad school. Lots of good conversations. Fun activities with great exchanges. When the kid was two, they built a sNOperson because everything was "No!" that year. This year they built a sKNOWperson." 

Dad liked this better. 

Waiting

A lot of times a syllabus will tell you how long you have to wait for a late professor, instructor, or teacher before you can assume that class in canceled. What they don't tell you is how long you have to wait before you start actually learning things. You know why they don't tell you that? Because as a graduate student - the responsibility for learning rests with you.

You need to read the syllabus to figure out what other reading you might need to do to understand concepts and topics. You need to learn to read the syllabus to determine if the books in the bookstore are the same ones as the ones the faculty member is using for the course. You need to read the syllabus in case there is something hidden in there the faculty member wants you to respond to to make sure you read the syllabus. You need to read the syllabus to figure out what kinds of projects or assignments you might want to do that could align with your assistantship or future work or research. You need to learn to read the syllabus in case...

You know - I guess you just need to learn to read the syllabus.

And ask questions.

And take responsibility for your learning because sometimes you might not have good teachers. Also sometimes teachers don't have good students. Some of the faculty wait around for that to happen to instead of doing more work to inspire people in the classroom. But you know how long faculty have to wait around for good students to show up? The ENTIRE semester. 

Also, most graduate students are awesome.

Phones

If you see your faculty members texting or on their phones in class, they are probably looking up great pedagogical techniques to enhance your learning experiences. That or they are playing Words With Friends.

(pause)

To enhance their vocabulary to make their teaching even more powerful and transformative.

You.

As you perhaps prepare to travel to see family or friends this week, something for you to keep in mind...  It's not that people don't care about what you're studying in graduate school. No, more likely it's that they don't understand it. Or at least they don't understand why you are studying it. 

If people act the same way about your veganism, well it is simply because we  don't carrot what you eat. 

Robot

Rory went to their professor to ask for some ideas for their team's final project. The team just hadn't been able to come up with much and they were looking for ideas. When the professor brought out a robot that students from a previous class had built, Rory was shocked. "They developed this robot to provide career guidance, academic support, and personal motivation to students. It was their final project. I gave them a B+ on it because while the robot was successful in those areas, the team had failed to program it to help students with wellness, ethics, or leadership." 

Rory knew their team needed to really, REALLY get to work on something brilliant to have any hope of getting an A in this course.

Later that day the professor took their colleague out for lunch. The colleague had put on the old robot Halloween costume for the meeting with Rory. Every year it worked - the robot project really inspired students to invest a lot of time and energy into the assignment and to come up with some pretty creative things.

Work

You might think of your papers and presentations as the fruit of your labor. We all know you work hard enough and stress enough and have enough things to manage that you deserve to celebrate the work you have done. And I don't know what kind of fruit you want to represent your labor. Sometimes probably grapes (of wrath), some tasks will leave a sour taste in your mouth like lemons. Some things replenish you like water(melon) and other tasks might be the last straw(berry).

Also, this is not a great post. The point is that hard work is hard.

Costumes

If you want to go as a Space Judge for Halloween, go for it. No one is the boss of you. Just don't spend so much time planning your costume that you forget to do your homework. Of course if "Space Judge" is the best idea you could come up with, you probably didn't spend a ton of time planning that costume.

Now, get back to work.

Overwhelmed

Sometimes when we think about the things we have to do, it seems like we are losing ground. Homework, paperwork, group work, teamwork. So many things that require our time. And then someone says, "Hey - enjoy grad school while it lasts."

Note to people who say that: Not helpful.

Push

No matter how great a student you are, there will be times you get stuck and need a little encouragement. Sometimes the encouragement might be a kind word or a "you can do it!" note of support. 

Other times you will be stuck that you will need a bulldozer to get you going again. Not a real, life-sized bulldozer. Just a little one to push you in the ankles. Don't worry about it. We all need that little ankle-pushing bulldozer from time to time. 

Robot

Some days the student felt like a robot obligated to memorize, regurgitate, and repeat stuff from the books over and over again in classes. There wasn't always a lot of room for freedom of thought or creativity. The learning seemed cumbersome and exhausting rather than inspirational and exhilarating. 

Sorry, robot. Really sorry. Grad school shouldn't be exactly like that. 

On an unrelated note, maybe don't wear that mortarboard until you are actually graduating.

Funny

Sometimes you just have to laugh because grad school is funny. Like when faculty expect that you've actually done the reading? Or if you have done the reading and they think you understand it? Or - this one is the best - when they think you have any clue how APA works. 

Maybe it's not grad school that's funny, but grad school faculty. What jokers.

Heartbreak

If you get through grad school without a little heartbreak, it means you didn't invest much in the process. Learning is hard. Growing and developing new understanding can hurt a little bit. 

That's okay. You're tough. 

Also, ask for help if you need it.

But not help like, "I'll pay you to do this assignment for me." That's an academic integrity violation. 

Conduct

Reese just finished a first-ever conduct meeting with a student. Nice job, Reese, but you're not Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Reflective Practice

Students didn't always realize how much the classroom experience meant to their professor. One day the professor walked home in the rain after a difficult day in class. Thinking "I don't know if they learned anything. I don't know if I taught anything," did not make the walk home go any faster.

The professor got even more depressed remembering the drive to work that morning. And that the car was parked on the other side of campus. 

Dogs

Sometimes when you get some time off, it's good to spend that time with dogs. They reduce stress and live in the moment and are great role models. They can help us disengage from the stress of graduate level work. 

Unless one of the dogs tries to get you to go to an abandoned amusement park or a construction site after dark or somebody's uncle's ranch. If you get sucked into that, it will NOT decrease your stress. Trust me.

Fitting In

There's always that one grad student who feels like they don't quite fit in. And by "that one" I mean all of them. They all feel that way sometimes. 




Gardner, S. K., & Holley, K. A. (2011). Those invisible barriers are real: The progression of 
first-generation students through doctoral education. Equity & Excellence in 
Education, 44(1), 77-92.

Gibson‐Beverly, G., & Schwartz, J. P. (2008). Attachment, entitlement, and the impostor phenomenon in female graduate students. Journal of College Counseling, 11(2), 119-132.

Lane, J. A. (2015). The imposter phenomenon among emerging adults transitioning into professional life: Developing a grounded theory. Adultspan Journal, 14(2), 114-128.

Idea

The professor had some BIG IDEAS for the course this fall...

Feelings

Reese knew that they had to put their feelings about undergrad behind them now that they were in graduate school.

But they were such happy feelings...

Of course ultimately they were just feelings. Nothing more than feelings.

Vin

A lot of grad students turn to Vin Diesel for advice and insight when they get stuck or are struggling. Not a lot of people know that. It is probably because Vin Diesel says things like this: 

It is insecurity that is always chasing you and 

getting in the way of your dreams.

~ Vin Diesel

So, on behalf of graduate student almost everywhere - thank you, Vin Diesel.

Giraffe

In many graduate student cultures, the giraffe represents an ability to rise above - to rise above challenges, to rise above pettiness, to rise above the drama of others. In other graduate student cultures the giraffe represents a toy giraffe someone found on the ground.

Listener

It's actually okay - even in grad school - to have a stuffed animal. Parker had a teddy bear. Parker would tell the bear all the problems they faced, the worries they had, the successes, the failures forward. 

And every time the teddy bear would say, "I love you THIS much." It always freaked Parker out a little bit because they didn't think teddy bears should talk.

Later Parker would discover their roommate hiding behind the couch.

Shortly after that Parker would get a new roommate.

Thirsty

Frankie really believed in the health benefits of apple juice. Frankie also thought maybe drinking a LOT of apple juice would make the old maxim "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" come true, which in turn could lead to their faculty member canceling class that day since Frankie hadn't done the reading.

Clown

There was always that one student who never took anything seriously. The one who distracted the whole class. The one who was always on a cell phone or shopping on Amazon instead of listening in class. The one who didn't read the syllabus. The one who always waited until the last minute to tell the team someone else would have to finish their piece of the project. The one who didn't do the readings and came to class late and left early. The one who asked things like, "Are we doing anything important today?"

Everyone knew there was no way that clown was going to graduate.

Teaching

Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like students don't understand a single thing you're saying? If so, I have a suggestion. Teach better.

HOLD ON!

Grad school was not as easy as riding a bike. It was, however, just as easy as riding a bike with one missing wheel down a set of stairs while not holding on.

Choices

Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.

~ Kevin Aucoin

- - - - -

Grad school is about choices. Not just choosing the mood or a career or a project or a team to do the project. It's about choosing whether or not do your homework which - by extension - is a choice about whether or not to stay in grad school.

Future

The faculty member could in fact see the students' futures. The information about the future was rarely shared with students, though. That would not only ruin the surprise, but would also let everyone know that -- well, I shouldn't say.

Congratulations

The faculty member was fine congratulating the student on their accomplishment, but simply purchasing a mortarboard was not really the end of the process in getting the degree.

Disappointed Professor

The professor who finds out they are teaching assessment in higher education might be disappointed. 

For those of you in the assessment class, it isn't because the professor doesn't want to teach assessment in higher education. It's probably because when they got their courses assigned they had once course called "Asses in Higher Ed" and they thought it was a completely different type of course. 

Research

The librarian had a script finished called "Research" that was a sort of film noir version of what working in a library was like. It was difficult to find someone to make the film, however because the librarian refused to budge on the topic and the major studios all thought the title was too scary for graduate students and too boring for every other person in the world.

"Foolish film producers," thought the librarian - along with some swear words.

Harmony

Sometimes in the midst of a semester it can be difficult to find harmony. You run from one task to the next - whether as a student or a staff member or a faculty member. You lose track of the more important things sometimes. It happens.

But then sometimes you find a giant rock with the word "harmony" on it.

(pause)

Actually, that hardly ever happens. 

Valentine's Week

Morosa loved Valentine's Day week. No one could really tell that by looking at Morosa, though because Morosa also loved being incredibly stoic.

Distracted

Parker was incredibly knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics. Unfortunately, that knowledge was the result of times when Parker started out searching for information about current events and then got a little sidetracked. 

"Oh look, a bulldozer!" thought Parker while looking up how to cite an online journal using APA. 

That was often how the new knowledge started - not by seeing a bulldozer, but by having to look up APA citations and hoping for something else to think about. 

Smirk

Rory was the only one who had done the reading. Rory was glad to be sitting at the front of the class since smirking wouldn't have been appreciated by the others.

Smirk away, Rory. Smirk. A. Way. 

As they say, "To the person who did the homework go the privileges of smirking." 

Of course that isn't a very common expression. 

Sale

Blaine was an excellent bargain shopper. With limited funds on a  graduate stipend, you have to get creative. Blaine found you could get better deals buying in bulk. 

Custodian

Frankie loved the custodian in her building. Charlie was incredibly nice and friendly and always helpful and always said hi and asked how Frankie's day was going.

The day of Frankie's last final, Charlie again rose to the occasions saying, "Don't stress about it, Frankie. You're going to clean up on this test!"

They both laughed and laughed. Frankie said Charlie was great at custodial puns. Charlie said, "You might think those are pretty easy, but they aren't. Well, it's easy if you're into dirty jokes, I guess, but I try not to tell those at work."

They laughed and laughed again. Oh, that Charlie.

Sorry

Instead of actually apologizing, sometimes Blaine and Frankie would just play the game Sorry. It was easier to do that than to actually say the word, "Sorry" to each other without a prompt from the game.

The irony was that the only thing Blaine had to apologize for was a completely cold and ruthless strategy that focused only on winning and not on friend-making when it came to board games, and the only thing that Frankie had to apologize for was not sounding sincere when saying "Sorry!" during the playing of the board game.

Morning

Parker welcomed the new year with a cup of coffee and the local paper. The coffee was good - the news wasn't. Parker realized there was a lot of work to be done.

Then Parker took a long nap.