So it's already week six of my semester and that's sort of terrifying. Before too long, I'm going to have to figure out how to go back into the non-student adult world and that makes me nervous. I'm going to have to start so many things over again and change habits that I had to change to be a student again and even for a bit I'm going to have to balance the two.
After classes are over, I'm going to stay in Ireland until my lease is up because, since it's student housing, I've already paid for it, so why not? Currently, my plan is to then live at home until the summer is over. There are a few reasons for this. One is that it will save me money (gotta love that student loan fun) and another is to relieve some stress on myself. You see, after classes end I still have work to do. In August I will have to turn in a 30,000 word portfolio of writing made up of at least two pieces of two different genres. Now once I come back home, I will need a job and a place to live and, as I just said, I will need to keep writing. The easiest thing to cut out is the finding a new place to live. The idea of trying to start a new job, write 30,000 words, find a new place, and move all sounds like far too much. Although, after my portfolio is done that's a whole fun process I may have to start.
But yeah let's talk about finding a job. It has literally been years since I've applied for jobs and I don't relish the thought of doing it again. I do have a good network, so that will help, but there have to be people hiring. The thought has crossed my mind that I may have to look outside Chicago, but I'm not sure I want to. For one, I love Chicago itself dearly. For another, I have a lot of incredible friends there. It's also where my parents live and where my step-brother Adrien, my sister-in-law Bri, and my incredibly precious nephew (have I shown you a picture yet? no? oh man do I have a treat for you) live. But I also need a job so I can have insurance (I paid for medicine for the first time out of pocket and oh boy was that not fun). But if a job appears outside of Chicago during the summer, I may have to move and start a new job and be doing my portfolio, which sounds like a very bad plan.
Even once I have a job, it's going to be an adjustment to having that kind of schedule again. Right now, I have about eight hours of class a week, three hours of a writing workshop, and about two hours of yoga class, so my week is pretty open. It was honestly hard to adjust to managing my free time so much again and I think I'm doing an okay job now, but it can be a bit hard to balance everything and know if I'm giving myself too much downtime (I do need some, but too much can make me lonely). And then on top of that there will be learning a new job which can be very interesting but will definitely be taxing on my brain.
Finally, while this isn't really about acclimating back into an adult world, I will have to acclimate back to being in the US. Now it's not that Ireland and the US are polar opposites, but there are enough little differences that I think it will jar me a bit. For instance, I've started saying grand over here, but I guess that will have to go. How confused will I be by counting floors? Will the more rigid bureaucracies that exist in the US stress me out now or will they be welcome? Will dealing with the news be better or worse because I'm physically closer to the issues?
All of this to say that while finishing grad school is an exciting prospect and something I've wanted for myself for a while, I am pretty nervous about acclimating back into the non-student world. Hopefully it will go okay, but any help and understanding will be appreciated.
(Prompt by Brianna Aaron)
After classes are over, I'm going to stay in Ireland until my lease is up because, since it's student housing, I've already paid for it, so why not? Currently, my plan is to then live at home until the summer is over. There are a few reasons for this. One is that it will save me money (gotta love that student loan fun) and another is to relieve some stress on myself. You see, after classes end I still have work to do. In August I will have to turn in a 30,000 word portfolio of writing made up of at least two pieces of two different genres. Now once I come back home, I will need a job and a place to live and, as I just said, I will need to keep writing. The easiest thing to cut out is the finding a new place to live. The idea of trying to start a new job, write 30,000 words, find a new place, and move all sounds like far too much. Although, after my portfolio is done that's a whole fun process I may have to start.
But yeah let's talk about finding a job. It has literally been years since I've applied for jobs and I don't relish the thought of doing it again. I do have a good network, so that will help, but there have to be people hiring. The thought has crossed my mind that I may have to look outside Chicago, but I'm not sure I want to. For one, I love Chicago itself dearly. For another, I have a lot of incredible friends there. It's also where my parents live and where my step-brother Adrien, my sister-in-law Bri, and my incredibly precious nephew (have I shown you a picture yet? no? oh man do I have a treat for you) live. But I also need a job so I can have insurance (I paid for medicine for the first time out of pocket and oh boy was that not fun). But if a job appears outside of Chicago during the summer, I may have to move and start a new job and be doing my portfolio, which sounds like a very bad plan.
Even once I have a job, it's going to be an adjustment to having that kind of schedule again. Right now, I have about eight hours of class a week, three hours of a writing workshop, and about two hours of yoga class, so my week is pretty open. It was honestly hard to adjust to managing my free time so much again and I think I'm doing an okay job now, but it can be a bit hard to balance everything and know if I'm giving myself too much downtime (I do need some, but too much can make me lonely). And then on top of that there will be learning a new job which can be very interesting but will definitely be taxing on my brain.
Finally, while this isn't really about acclimating back into an adult world, I will have to acclimate back to being in the US. Now it's not that Ireland and the US are polar opposites, but there are enough little differences that I think it will jar me a bit. For instance, I've started saying grand over here, but I guess that will have to go. How confused will I be by counting floors? Will the more rigid bureaucracies that exist in the US stress me out now or will they be welcome? Will dealing with the news be better or worse because I'm physically closer to the issues?
All of this to say that while finishing grad school is an exciting prospect and something I've wanted for myself for a while, I am pretty nervous about acclimating back into the non-student world. Hopefully it will go okay, but any help and understanding will be appreciated.
(Prompt by Brianna Aaron)
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