Finding a Balance

Something that I've been struggling with lately is finding a balance. 

A balance between work and school, between reading, studying and having a social life.

Graduate school is difficult, much more difficult than I thought it would be. It's not so much the work that caught me off guard, but the simple fact that I spend eight hours a day at my full-time job before I even enter the mindset of being a student again. Two days a week, I drive straight from work to a class that happens to be three hours long.

When I'm not at work or in class, I'm either sleeping or studying. Usually studying leads to sleeping because I can't stay awake through the numerous reading selections that my professors tend to assign. 

This experience has definitely been a learning one.

Forty-five minutes into my three-hour class last night, my professor decided to let us go home. To an exhausted, overwhelmed and stressed out graduate student, this was the answer to my prayers!

I went straight home. I washed dishes, did laundry and got work done for both my GS classes. I already feel a sense of relief, after just those two hours. 

Tonight, I found my "balance" in having that little bit of extra time. Whether Dr. Howe knew it or not, he changed my whole mindset by letting us go early. I know that working toward my masters degree is something that I will always treasure, I've just got to remember to find the balance that's right for me.

I apologize for my lack of posting lately. Hopefully pretty soon, I'll figure out my routine, and get back to blogging regularly! Do you ever feel like you're being pulled in ten different directions?

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As always, Have a Sweet Day!

The Firsts of Graduate School

It's only been a week and a half, and I can already say that I've experienced so many firsts in graduate school: My first grad school friend, my first almost-test, my first time being called on by the teacher and not knowing the answer. The list goes on and on!

People ask me all the time, is grad school as difficult as is sounds? The answer (being completely honest) is yes. Graduate school is definitely more serious than undergrad, more is expected of you, there's a lot less explaining, and more of an expectation that you know what they're talking about. All this, combined with working 40 hours a week at the university, makes for a very interesting adventure!

This semester I'm taking two classes: Organization and Governance in Higher Education on Mondays and American Higher Education on Wednesdays. Both courses are offered at night from 6:00-8:45.

Before attending my first class, I couldn't help but imagine how things would be. Would it be anything like undergrad? Would I feel unprepared since my undergraduate major was far from Education? I had those first day of school jitters all over again!

I knew that during the first week especially, I wanted to feel as prepared as possible. I made sure to strategically plan my outfits, pack my book bag, and have the best supplies for class. I must have been doing something right because it went swimmingly, and got me so excited for the semester to come! Determined to get an involved as I can and meet new friends, I've also joined HESA (Higher Education Student Association). Since Boone is such a college town, I thought this would be a great way to meet some people in my age group, and be even more active in my program!

When I graduated from undergrad, I never in a million years thought that I would go back to school for my masters in anything, so for me, this is a big deal! 

To remember how special my first day of graduate school was, I took some time to make a sign, and had my friend Tara snap a picture of me. I love seeing how people change over the years, and I'm sure I will see a change in myself as I work toward my Master of Arts in Higher Education!

I'm sure there will be many more "firsts" to come, this is just the beginning! Have you ever thought of pursuing a master's degree?

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Graduate School Orientation

Last Monday night, the Higher Education graduate program at Appalachian had orientation for its new, incoming students. I was so excited (and a little nervous) knowing this would be my first time meeting all of the students and teachers in my program!

At 5:30, I headed over to the brand new College of Education building on campus. While looking for the classroom, I got that whole "new freshman" feeling all over again! I was actually still wandering around, when a man approached me and asked if I was there for orientation. I'm sure I had that "lost" look all over my face. Later in the evening, I found out he was one of the two professors I have this semester. 

The orientation was quick, easy and super casual, which really eased my nerves. I was able to meet other new students, as well as the faculty members in the Higher Education program. After a few ice-breakers, we learned about expectations of the program and were able to chat with continuing Higher Ed. students. 

That night, I went home ready and so excited to get back to school! It's one thing to work for the university, but being a student again at a school that you love and take so much pride in is a whole different feeling. This will definitely be a degree to be proud of, in two years that is!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Life as of Late: 5 on Friday!

Since I haven't had the time to blog regularly recently, I wanted to spend today updating you all on some fab things that have been going on in my life! Please bare with me, the list is a bit random!

I'm officially sharing six things, but just because I love 5 on Friday, I'm still linking up with a few beautiful bloggers for the 5 on Friday post!

Have five (or six) things you'd like to share? Link up and let us know!

I ran 10 miles!!!!

My goodness, what an accomplishment! When I started running in November, I couldn't run one mile without stopping! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever run/want to run 10, but I did it, and I'm one step closer to my half-marathon dream!

I met my graduate school advisor!

A tad excited to be visiting the new College of Education building!

On Monday, in an effort to tie up any graduate school loose ends, I decided to contact my new advisor to see if we could get together for a meeting later on in the week. He agreed, and we met yesterday morning for the first time. I immediately had a great feeling about him! Dr. Howe is super nice, knowledgeable and supportive! Our face to face meeting made me so excited to work with him over the next two years!

My hair is growing!

#selfie
I've been trying to grow out my hair since November, and this week, someone even told me it looked long! Thank you, Samantha! It made my day, and made all those "just trim the ends" hair appointments completely worth it! I'm getting some color done tomorrow, and I can't wait.

Registrar's Office Retreat

Office friends: Tara, Bert & Ethel
One of my tasks over the past few months, was to plan a Registrar's Office retreat for my entire office. It was a task trying to accommodate 20+ schedules, but somehow, it happened! The retreat went off without a hitch, and everyone had so much fun!

My NYC trip is booked!

As of about two weeks ago, my NYC trip in November is officially official! We heard back from the Reservations Coordinator, and my friends and I will be visiting NYC November 21st through the 24th.

I get to see Paisley today!

Today after work, I'm headed home for the weekend, and I finally get to see my sweetheart, Paisley! It's been two weeks since I've been home, and I miss her so much. Hopefully we'll have pretty weather the next couple of days, and make it to the park for a little doggie field trip.

What's your life been like as of late?

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As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Graduate School Bound!

This past Wednesday, I got some really good news! News that I wasn't expecting for another month, but it absolutely made my day!

I got my acceptance letter from graduate school!

Though the decision came much sooner than I thought, this hasn't been a short process.

In December, I attended the New Employee Orientation program at Appalachian, where I learned that ASU will pay for its employees to take two classes each year, (one per semester) at absolutely no cost to the staff member. This sparked my interest and got me thinking. College classes with no debt...sounds like a pretty good idea to me! I also spoke to a few people that decided to pursue their masters while holding a full-time job as well, to get some additional insight.

In January, I signed up for the GRE, borrowed a book from a friend (Thanks, Lizzy!) and started studying. I took the test about a week later. At that time, I hadn't decided the exact program that I wanted to pursue, but with deadlines quickly approaching, I needed my scores, and fast!

The two programs that I considered were a Masters of Arts in College Student Development and one in Higher Education. Though College Student Development sounds like the more "fun" of the two programs, it had a lot of internship/graduate assistant time commitments that would have to be met, and without being a full-time student, that was going to be very difficult! The Higher Ed. degree is just as intensive, but offers all of its courses in the evenings, for students also working full-time jobs, just like me!

A Masters of Arts in Higher Education provides a graduate the qualifications to hold a director's level position in a community college or four year institution in many different areas. It's made up of 12 classes, most of which are offered all year long (including summer), and will take me two years to complete. Though that may sound like a while, we all know that two years goes by at the speed of light in college, I know my first four did!

The deadline for priority decision for the Higher Ed. program here at Appalachian is March 15, 2013, this coming Friday. That's why I was so surprised when I heard back so soon! One of my goals for 2013 was to decide what direction I wanted my life to go in professionally. I don't know about you, but something's telling me graduate school is it.

 Cheers to the next BIG step in my life!

I can't wait!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!