So, a few weeks ago, I was able to finally go back to somewhere I've been longing to be...my second home, Fort Worth and TCU! I just happened to have a free weekend the same time that all of my friends there were free because there was an away game, so I hopped on a plane and headed back to Cowtown :)
My lovely Little Kayla picked me up at the airport (after I got up at 5:00am to get to the airport, this will be important later) and I just about lost it then...I missed her so much! Then we went to see Julie at her place of employment and had a tour of Brainhealth. We headed back to Fort Worth and ate at the new In-N-Out Burger and then went back to her apartment until band. I got to see Lauren then and catch up...and also watch the O.C., which Kayla and Lauren promised I would soon be addicted to and which indeed proved to be the case!
Anyways, it was soon time to leave for band practice. I have honestly been really missing band, so I was glad to have the opportunity to go and I also got to see so many friends. I received so many hugs in the space of ten minutes...I have rarely felt so loved. I was so glad to see so many people: my museum buddy Michelle, Olivia, Natalie, Molly, Cristi, and the Amandas and so many others, and, it goes without saying, the rest of my family! Being with Kayla, Audrey, Callie and Meridith again made me feel complete again, really bring home that I had felt like something was missing. I love them all so much and seeing them again...ah, there are no words. Anyways, so practice continued on and I got to help out with the rain jackets and see their show so far. Then, at the end, I was able to sing with the chapter which definitely brought tears to my eyes. I know that college can't go on forever...but I wish that I had more time to be in band and TBS with all of these people I love so much.
After practice, we met up with Julie for dinner at Pappasito's for some good old Tex-Mex like they definitely don't have in Lawrence! We had a great dinner and a lot of fun together. Then Julie and I went back to Kayla and Lauren's to get ready to go the Fray concert at TCU that night. The concert was fun but not super exciting, though we got to hang out with Meridith and Callie some more. Afterwards, we went out with some other people and had a very exciting night! Long story short, though, we didn't go to bed until after 3:30, and I had been up since 5 that morning. Yikes!
The next morning we were up bright and early too for the Heart Start Walk, which TBS has participated in since my sophomore year. It was fun and afterwards Kayla and Traci and Joellen and I had a lovely breakfast at the Vickery Blvd Cafe. Then Kayla I went back to her apartment and basically laid on her floor for hours until Meridith and Callie came over and inspired us to do something. We went to this really neat and delicious pizza place called Pie-5 to eat and watch the TCU game. After halftime, Amy and Allison came to meet us and it was more than I had hoped for to see them as well! After the game was over, we went to this place called Sweet Sammies and had ice cream sandwiches...mine was purple, of course, to celebrate our victory! Then Kayla and Callie and Meridith and I explored the new Charming Charlie's. Callie had to leave but Kayla and Meridith and I watched one of our Pink! family movies, She's the Man. Then we dropped Meridith off on campus and went to the Black-Out party at the drumline house. However, it was super crowded and I was too tired to deal with crowds and so we left, got Whataburger, and watched some more O.C.
The next morning, we got up and Callie and Kayla drove me to the airport. Being September 11th, I was worried about security, but it was fine in Dallas. It was a bit surreal to be sitting there watching the ceremonies in New York while sitting in an airport...especially after my plane was delayed because of a bomb threat at KCI. So, it took quite awhile to get home, and I was stressing about the week to come. Still, I wouldn't trade my time in Fort Worth for anything!
So, there is an extremely detailed account of my time in Fort Worth. I'm glad I didn't have to wait until Homecoming to see everyone again. I really needed to renewal of being around my friends and people who loved me and I did not realize how much I missed being hugged! Now I'm eagerly counting the days until I can go back for Homecoming!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The First Month of Grad School
So, given that I've been in grad school for a month, I should probably write a blog post about grad school, right? I mean, it's this huge, important part of my life now, something that's going to define my next three years and all the years to come...but I can sum it up in one sentence.
Grad school is hard.
Shocking revelation, I know. I'm sure you're staring at your computer screen in exasperation, thinking, "Well duh it's hard, Ashley, it is graduate school after all." And I would completely agree with you. I knew grad school was going to be hard. I knew that it would be challenging and difficult and stressful. I suppose what's surprising me is just how it's hard. Obviously, you have the subject material. All in all, that's not too much harder than undergrad. Sure, it's more concentrated, more in depth, but if you're taking good undergrad classes, the actual difficulty in terms of art history doesn't ratchet up too much. No, what gets you is the way your classes are structured. You see, what they don't tell you when preparing for grad school is that in addition to learning your actual subject, you'll need to learn how to be a grad student too. You'll be placed in classes with Ph.D. students, with people who have actual work experience in museums or elsewhere in the field, with older, more experienced Masters students. You'll have to keep up with the years of extra knowledge and experience they have, and try your hardest to keep your head above water. In addition to that, you'll be reading about four times more each week than you EVER had to read for ALL of your undergrad classes for just one class, and you have to be able to engage with and remember the material in a way that's just insane.
It's just...there's a whole extra level of things you have to learn that aren't in classes. And you're never really taught them...you just have to learn as you go along. It's overwhelming and stressful and scary, because it's so much that you're not really sure how you'll ever get to the level of those other students. And also, you're cut off from your support network and completely starting over so you don't even have friends to rely on...it's just all new, all hard, and all stressful.
And, now that I've complained about how hard it is, grad school is fun too! It's great to be a part of tight knit department, and I love being able to focus just on art history and learn a lot. Teaching is hard, but I'm really glad I have the opportunity to do so. I'm learning a lot and I have some really great and entertaining students. It's just a lot of difference in just about every aspect of my life and it's a lot to get used to. Still, I'm hopeful that I'll keep learning and soon I'll be much more comfortable with my role as a graduate student.
Grad school is hard.
Shocking revelation, I know. I'm sure you're staring at your computer screen in exasperation, thinking, "Well duh it's hard, Ashley, it is graduate school after all." And I would completely agree with you. I knew grad school was going to be hard. I knew that it would be challenging and difficult and stressful. I suppose what's surprising me is just how it's hard. Obviously, you have the subject material. All in all, that's not too much harder than undergrad. Sure, it's more concentrated, more in depth, but if you're taking good undergrad classes, the actual difficulty in terms of art history doesn't ratchet up too much. No, what gets you is the way your classes are structured. You see, what they don't tell you when preparing for grad school is that in addition to learning your actual subject, you'll need to learn how to be a grad student too. You'll be placed in classes with Ph.D. students, with people who have actual work experience in museums or elsewhere in the field, with older, more experienced Masters students. You'll have to keep up with the years of extra knowledge and experience they have, and try your hardest to keep your head above water. In addition to that, you'll be reading about four times more each week than you EVER had to read for ALL of your undergrad classes for just one class, and you have to be able to engage with and remember the material in a way that's just insane.
It's just...there's a whole extra level of things you have to learn that aren't in classes. And you're never really taught them...you just have to learn as you go along. It's overwhelming and stressful and scary, because it's so much that you're not really sure how you'll ever get to the level of those other students. And also, you're cut off from your support network and completely starting over so you don't even have friends to rely on...it's just all new, all hard, and all stressful.
And, now that I've complained about how hard it is, grad school is fun too! It's great to be a part of tight knit department, and I love being able to focus just on art history and learn a lot. Teaching is hard, but I'm really glad I have the opportunity to do so. I'm learning a lot and I have some really great and entertaining students. It's just a lot of difference in just about every aspect of my life and it's a lot to get used to. Still, I'm hopeful that I'll keep learning and soon I'll be much more comfortable with my role as a graduate student.
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