U.S.: Grad School (end year 1)

First of all, let a long exhale be released in honor of the end of the semester. Secondly, is any crafty person out there in need of some wine bottles? I have collected a few throughout the school year. 

One of my students is on the verge of graduating at the end of this week, and throughout the semester the same student often commented on how sad it is to be graduating from college. After a year in grad school, my cynical advice would be to run away as fast as one can. A freshman classmate's seemingly-wise solution to the situation differs from mine, and I quote: "Just like, go to law school or something."

Right. Continuing onto grad school solves the issue because it's not like it's any different from undergrad. Law school couldn't be any more difficult than Spanish 102, so have at it. Oh, I love the naïveté. 

I recently came to the conclusion that I would choose Peace Corps over grad school any day. Let's not forget that both experiences come with their challenges, but at least in Peace Corps there is a life outside of reading dull books and mastering theories. Perhaps this is a case of the-grass-is-greener-elsewhere, or perhaps it is simply a manifestation of end-of-the-semester fatigue. However, my advice would be not to go to grad school without seriously contemplating it first. 

A professor of ours on the last day of class congratulated us for having survived the first year, claiming that it is the most challenging of all the years one may spend in academia. However, another professor demonstrated for us during class recently what life in academia is really like. Banging his fist repeatedly against the table, he said, "This is your head. First you pass your Master's exams, and then you pass your prelims, and then you defend your dissertation, and then you apply for jobs, and once you get one, you work and work and work towards tenure, and then once you get tenure the cycle doesn't end..." So besides the paycheck, I'm not convinced yet that it gets better.

For the meantime, a celebration in honor of surviving the first year is in order. But just a short celebration, because the studying must continue. I have a long long reading list to tackle in preparation for next year's Master's exams...because in order to receive a Master's degree in Spanish Linguistics I guess it's necessary that I become an expert in Latin American and Golden Age literature in addition to syntax, phonetics, and all of the fun in between. Don Quixote, here I come.  

I won't be spending the entire summer studying, however. I'll allow myself a little break in the pursuit of happiness. After picking up my favorite Argentine from the airport, I'm headed back to Spanish camp in the northern woods of Minnesota. Luna is going to spend the summer with her grand-humans in a dog-free, gigantic house where she will have the freedom to run, and undoubtedly reign.  

Bring it on, world.