One time, just a few weeks after we finished college, my friend Brooke eloquently remarked, "Corn Flakes are like Frosted Flakes without the fun. They are the master's degrees of Frosted Flakes; master's degrees are like college without the fun." If I recall correctly, there was no alcohol involved in this conversation; we were just sitting on her couch, possibly watching TV, and this came out of her mouth. Brooke has since completed a respectable amount of graduate work, despite the predicted lack of fun back when we were 22.
Speaking of Brooke, she's someone I spent quite a few Sunday nights with back at Mercer. Many Sundays went something like this: have a late lunch at the cafeteria, complain about all we had to do to prepare for the week, watch some TV, I'd leave to lead an Supplemental Instruction session, then we would get ready for chapter (weekly sorority meeting), go to dinner in the cafeteria before chapter, attend chapter, hit up Taco Bell or other fast food for a post-chapter/pre-homework snack or second dinner, complain a little more about the upcoming week, and around 10:00 pm, we would finally start our homework or reading that we'd been complaining about since after lunch. It wasn't the most productive way to get ahead on the new week, but that remained our Sunday routine anyway. Some weeks we'd mix it up and skip the post-chapter fast food but show up at Waffle House with our posse sometime after midnight.
Thinking about Brooke's silly comment from years ago, I can see how people would feel that graduate work is like college without the fun. This kind of Sunday night activity is a little lonely compared to a decade ago. I'm at a table by myself in my own house with my school stuff stacked around me, and if I wanted to go to Waffle House (which I don't), I'd have to go alone, which doesn't sound like much fun. In fact, what sounds fun now is actually doing my reading and being prepared for the week. I'm completely invested in pursuing new knowledge. Woah.
Even though I managed to get things done (and mostly on time) in college, I realize that I have come a long way from where I was as an undergraduate, and other than a few pages of reading, I'm ready for Monday. Tuesday is another story, but I hope to be in a better place with class preparations next Sunday. I have time to figure out my routine, and meanwhile, I feel incredibly fortunate that I am able to fully devote my time to my graduate work. There are so many people cheering for me, and I can't disappoint the team.
Something that made today great: picking up Scooter from Camp Bow Wow! We have an amazing dog.
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