Stop time, please!

Time. In graduate school, the majority of people are constantly fighting against time while wishing they had more. We are always up against deadlines of some sort and anxiously watch the seconds, minutes, and hours tick away. 

This week I've been doing a little making over of my personal blog, and I realized I needed to update the "About Me" section of this blog. In just over two weeks (on my 26th birthday to be exact), I will officially be a THIRD-YEAR doctoral student. What?!?! When did that happen? Didn't I start my studies yesterday? It has been an interesting couple of years with the upcoming year marking my arrival into Ph.D. candidacy (WHOOP!). Here's a little recap of my journey so far:

Year 1

During my first year as a Ph.D. student, I was still a full-time teacher. I decided I didn't have enough to do so I was also a cheerleading coach. Obviously, my focus was getting through introductory statistics and some core education courses, while helping write curriculum for my school, teaching pre-teen girls cheerleading stunts and dances, and shifting from TAKS to STAAR. To this day, I don't remember most of that year - just bits and pieces. 

STAAR-Worthy Memories:

- Telling my stats professor I fell asleep reading one of the articles he assigned. Oops.

- Competing with my students over study times, test grades, and writing papers (If I had to do it, so did they!)

- Submitting my first research proposals for a professional conference

For me, this year was just the beginning, slowly acclimating to graduate studies and finishing strong with my middle school babies.

Year 2

At the end of year one, I made the very difficult decision to leave the classroom and return to school full-time. My mentors had told me that in Ph.D. studies, courses are the LEAST of your concerns. Really, they are just a box you check for completion. The important stuff (a.k.a. what will get you a job) is research, conferences, and publishing. Taking their advice, I was now a full-time student again. This year has been long, but too short with more memories than I can count.

Memories that make being "a-poor-starving-graduate-student" worth it:

- Learning how to write, academically (thanks, Dr. G!)

- publishing my first article (WHOOP, October 2013!)

- attending my first professional conferences

- traveling for work!

- teaching my first courses

- being recognized for teaching (something I truly treasure)

- receiving funds for school

- being part of a research team

- working with students from the researcher point-of-view

- working on a grant

- submitting endless proposals to professional conferences 

- forming collaboration, writing, and accountability groups

- making new friends!

- realizing how important backing up files is! (The Great Computer Crash, November 2012)

What a year! I'm so excited to see what Year 3 brings!