Hard but Fascinating

I am getting into the rhythm of Grad school. You have to see everything you do (other than homework) as just a brief break from the work you have to do. It takes a toll, all this homework and reading and classes. At least I am only taking 2 classes; some grad students have 3 classes, and I don't know how they manage.

My life has narrowed a bit since the Summer. Focus is the key word here I guess. At least Grad school is only the topic you chose, without any extraneous classes. I do wish there were some graduate classes in how to write, not just theory and history. I guess they need to make it that way for it to qualify as an MS. When I graduate, I will have a BA in the hard sciences (neuroscience) and an MS in Journalism and Mass Communications, which I consider part of the humanities. So odd. But I have always wanted an MS so I guess it works. And I can take 3 undergraduate courses as part of the degree, so I'll get my writing that way.

The main thing that makes this semester especially hard is that I have the "hardest" Professor for both classes. She teaches four classes, and I just happened to get two in the same semester. I had heard rumors, but I didn't believe them. Now that I'm learning from her I find that she is at heart a kind, knowledgeable and giving professor. The only problem is that she doesn't seem to have any conception of how long the work she assigns takes. We have all told her that we can't do it all and can't she narrow it down some. She declined to do so, which means people are haphazardly choosing what to read etc., and no two people in the class will have learned the same things at the end of it. For instance, she assigns around 700 pages of reading a week. In one class. It is impossible I tell you! That is like almost 3 good size books! And that is only in one class! I have her in my other one as well like I said and she doesn't stint on the homework there either. So combined it makes for one headlong plunge. I do find her to be very accommodating though; if you are truly ill she readily gives extensions. She just has this quirk of not realizing how many hours are needed to read 700 pages of dense, technical material.

Like I said before though, it is fascinating work. I enjoy writing (or I wouldn't keep a blog now would I), and this masters affords plenty of time for that, since we write a 25 page paper in every class, in addition to the weekly writing assignments. And I'll learn the "craft" in those undergrad classes, since it is assumed in the masters program that you have already done that. Overall I like it, I just wish there were more hours in the day to get it all done. But I'll manage, don't you worry about me!

I hope all of you are as well as I am or better.