Diary of a Grad Student pt. 2

A year ago, I started this journey called "Getting my Master's Degree." I'm now entering my second year as a grad student and I'm pretty much more than half-way finished with the program.  All I have left is to complete my 700 hours of practicum/internship, 9 hours of elective courses, and take my comps....and then I GRADUATE!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm REALLY excited about graduating and being done with my degree (well...at least for now).  What absolutely FREAKS me out is what happens afterwards, when i'm actually in the field, working towards becoming an LPC, and helping people in the process. 

Real World living, right?

*Sigh* I guess this all boils down to being a full-fledged adult.  Scary, right?  I have so many thoughts running through my head at the moment...

So, as I sit here in the UTSA DT Library, I reminisce the last year of my life.

In all honesty, it's not what I expected.  And that's a good thing.  This whole grad school business was "easier" than I thought.  I mean, I studied by butt off most of the time, which probably made things A LOT easier.  I keep telling my friends and family that I study more as a graduate student than I did as an undergrad.

All in all, this past year was rewarding.  I met many great people in the program who have challenged me and I truly felt that I grew up as a person and discovered that this profession is something that I want to do.  I know it'll be difficult, but I never expected this to be easy.  I just hope I have the inner strength to keep going.

Being accepted into this program has been a blessing. 

Look out for a couple of new vlogs coming soon.  I'm finishing up a book at the moment (Cuckoos Calling by Robert Galbraith a.k.a. JK Rowling) and my September birchbox should be coming in soon in the mail. Once I figure out how to work the camera on my new laptop (which shouldn't be too difficult) i'll be posting my review of both the book and birchbox.

See you next time!

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Wow...December 31, 2012 already?  I would be lying if I said that the year went by pretty quickly.  Because, for me, it didn't.  It didn't go painstakingly slow either.  It was normal speed for me.  At least for the first half.

Let's have a quick run through, shall we?

The start of my 2012 was filled with uncertainty about my future.  I was preparing to take my GRE's for the second time and finishing up grad school applications.  However, like many people, I have the voice of doubt floating around in the back of my head.  I usually ignore this voice, but my defenses were low at this time, which made me susceptible to its words.  The one statement that the voice of doubt kept going through my head was "What if you don't get into any grad school?  What will you do?"  

Now, i'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't get a job after graduating from UT in May 2011.  There were many others who didn't.  But I always planned on going to grad school.  And that is where my plans stopped (or rather, my future plans relied on me getting into and graduating from grad school.)  I never planned on taking a break from school, but in all honesty, I was just mentally exhausted from playing catch-up my last 2 1/2 years at UT that I decided to take a break.  

Luckily, I did get into grad school.  Getting that e-mail from UTSA to claim my ID was probably one of the best e-mails I've ever gotten.  I was happy (not as happy as when I got my UT acceptance letter in fall '06...but happy nonetheless).  This train had been stuck at the same station for too long and needed a new destination to explore.  This book needed a new chapter.  

Now the rest of the year was all a blur.  Needed to find an apartment, buying stuff for my apartment, get my shot (ugh!), register for classes, get my books, get my parking tag, move to San Antonio, etc. etc.

And then I was back in my element of being a student.  Reading intellectual literature, attending lecture, taking notes, assignments/homework, studying, taking tests, writing papers, and repeat!  As much as I hated doing all that as an undergrad at UT...it was nice being in a familiar atmosphere.  

And I DEFINITELY would not have survived my first semester of grad school if not for the AMAZING people I met through the program...you know who you are ;-).  You may not know it, but my interaction with y'all is probably why I didn't go completely insane.  

Was 2012 the best year ever?  To be honestly truthful...I don't know.  I think 2012 is too fresh in my mind to completely declare it as "The Best Year Ever!"  Ask me again in about 5 years, in which i've had enough time to grow and develop as a person and am able to compare it to what I have done throughout the years.

Was it a good year?  Oh, most definitely!  Any year in which I can spend time with the best family and friends a girl can ask for is always a good year...and maybe the best (but, that is pretty much every year :-D). Hm...I may have answered my question in the previous paragraph.

So...time for New Year's resolutions:

1.  Continue with the good grades in the Counseling program and give a little bit more effort into the program (Going to need that extra push...taking 4 classes)

2.  In the midst of all that schooling, find somewhere to relax and ENJOY LIFE!  (Because you only have ONE)

3.  Dust off that Nintendo Wii and get back to using the Wii Fit.  (I've been neglecting it since moving to San Antonio...oops!)

4.  Try to eat veggies everyday...at least every other day! (Gotta be healthy, right?)

5.  Read a book every weekend. (I've also been neglecting reading [i'm not talking about textbooks] the minuscule library in my apartment, filled with books that I have not read.  And besides...football season is in its last stretches, what else am I supposed to do on the weekends?)

6. Write in this blog more consistently. (Eh, we'll see how this goes...)

Time to spend New Year's Eve in the company of family and friends.  And SHOPPING TOMORROW!!! ;-)

2013...BRING. IT. ON.

-Kristina