Hello, old friend. Welcome back to the blog. Actually, welcome me back to the blog.
Today is my first day logging on here since New Year’s. I can’t believe it’s been four months since then and seven months since I last posted.
It is the end of April, which means I am well into finals right now. Exams, presentations, papers, the works.
Now that I am near the end of my first year of graduate school, here’s how it’s been.
For starters, I always hear people debate “go straight to grad school?” or “take some time off of school?”. In my opinion, you’ll be screwed either way, so just go when you’re ready. Either you’ll be struggling to get back into a student mindset or burnt out of your mind from an identity revolving around academia.
With that being said, I’m really happy that I am here. It’s stressing me out, my sleep schedule and eating patterns have lost their routine, and I’m mentally drained, but I’m glad that I am studying what I am studying, I’m glad that I chose to do it here, and I am glad that I chose to do it now. The child version of me inside feels so proud that I am becoming the scientist I have always wanted to be, and the adult in me is proud that I am engaging in such cool and meaningful work. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.
And at the bare minimum, I’m happy that I didn’t have to deal with another Minnesota winter this year. I don’t think I could ever go back to that as my norm.
What’s been feeding my soul lately? Watching movies (I was never a movie person growing up) and learning more about visual storytelling through cinematography, learning new recipes beyond my quick college days meal preps (this is the most fun I’ve ever had while cooking), getting into film photography and buying my first 35mm film camera (no more single-use disposables!), talking to my parents on the phone for hours (I miss them so much), traveling to LA to visit my older brother (miss him too), and having solo dance parties in my apartment (usually when I should be doing assignments).
I cannot begin to describe how much I’ve grown in the past 8 months since moving away and starting a new chapter. It hasn’t been butterflies the whole time, of course, but I truly feel really content with where I am headed professionally and mentally. Hopefully, as the school year winds down and I have a little more free time on my plate this summer, I can return to all of my old creative outlets and share with you all the new ones that bring me curiosity and joy.
We’re one-third of the way through 2022 but we’re just getting started!
Until next time,
Manyi