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.