Takin' Care of Business #3

Life is a big trip...and boy, was I in for the ride!

These past 3 weeks have been incredibly crazy. It's so weird to think it's mid-October now, when just a few weeks ago I was complaining about how this semester would never end. Alot has happened in the past 3 weeks.

My assistantship is driving me a bit nuts. Since this is my first "grown up" job, it's been very difficult for me to understand what is my place. I'm a student, but a young professional. In my "Theory of Higher Education" class we talk alot about dualism...how students want everything in black and white. Nobody ever cares for gray because it is one color of major confusion. I feel that right now I would prefer black or white. At my job, they expect me to do certain things, but are constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure that it gets done their way. Since I'm at a new institution, I'm constantly learning about how things operate. There are many times when I hear of favoritism for one student group over another. This makes me upset because all groups should have an equal chance for services offered by my office. I also get a bit upset at how nobody knows where my office is at. The Diversity Office is located in one corner of campus, separate from the major offices. Many don't know that our office is "that one house in the corner". It just goes to show how many people actually come visit us. But I like our little house. It's cozy and it gives the students (the 10 or so who actually come down to the office) a very home-like atmosphere. It's a place for them to come hang out, to talk, to relax, to study. It's so good when they come to visit. They all know me by name and always greet me with a hug. I dare even to say that friendships with these students are blooming. Since I'm also a student I feel entitled to hang out with them, but as a staff member it seems to be innapropriate. I really just don't know where I stand sometimes.

Classes have been a major pain! Papers, papers, papers! Every. single. week. How on Earth is someone supposed to relax when there is always another assignment to be turned in? This past week the students have been going through midterms...well, so have the grads. The Theory class gave us a take home test with 2 weeks to work on it (one of those weeks being our Homecoming). Well, since I've been busy with other stuff I left that take home to complete until the day before (like I usually do) and spent most of the night writing it. Though I have made my Time Management Plan since earlier this semester, I have not used the master plan I created. Honestly, I have no excuse to not study, but it seems like every other week something "unexpected" comes up and I have to go deal with it. It could be a special project for another class or maybe an assignment from work. Extra hours to do extra things. But the deal is: it just never ends. The madness continues...

As far as my social life, I LOVE the people in my program! So many different personalities and characters. One thing is for sure, these grads like to have fun. Every Wednesday, a couple of us go out somewhere to check out the nightlife in our town. We sit for a an hour or so and vent about the week over a slice of pizza. The cliques that had been forming at the beginning of the semester are now fading away to this big cohesive group :) It makes me so happy when I hear that everyone else is having the same doubts and fustrations as me. I don't feel alone anymore. I actually have friends now who I can talk to about my personal feelings on subjects or when I just need a pep talk to get me through the day.

It's all coming together and here I am, busy, again like when I was an undergrad. School, work, and building a social life...who would have thought?