One of the things I love about being a student, and I guess just about being in the teaching profession and academia overall is the idea of a new life every semester.
Every semester, your life gets a new little schedule, you see new little faces and you get to start afresh. Set the right tone, set the right expectations, get off on the right foot. I love that feeling.
This morning I got up and said, I'm going to do this right.
I put on a particularly professorial looking ensemble because I like to look extra professorly the first day. An argyle sweater over a collared shirt and whatnot. I love the look on their faces when I introduce myself as a 3rd year PhD. I'd like to think it's because they think I look young. I think I have another good group.
This semester, particularly this month, is going to be intense. I should be flipping out right now, but hey, it is what it is, comps are coming up starting next week whether I'm ready or not, so I just have to buckle down. I finally got that dissertation fellowship application sent off. One of my committee members who wrote me a recommendation said she wrote me "a very strong letter." It felt good to finally cast that bread out into the waters. Shall it return to me after many days? Time will tell. There's one more I'm applying for due next month. I can just tweak the stuff I wrote for the last one, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Vamos a ver.
I have to stay focused. "You'll be fine," he said. "You're smart and you're hardworking and you're going to dominate it. You just have to keep your focus." Well, thanks for believing in me. "And not get distracted," I added. "Especially by you." We laughed, but I was only half kidding. Don't distract me, bro.
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