Part 1: The Realities Of A TRF Student As Time Winds Down At Newhouse
Part 1:
Recently, I decided to do a four-part series about preparing for comps, graduation, and jobs, so if you’re reading this coming into sequence 71, you’ll know what to expect. And for those of us in sequence 70, you know that someone is in the same boat as you.
For spring break, I chatted further with alumni to see more about what they do and how they got there, as most students do. It was also good to note what they recommended insofar as safe living areas and costs. There were two people on Thursday and one on Friday and many more I have yet to reach out to, but as a majority of whom I reached out to got back to me, I figured that was a pretty good start. All were very kind and gracious with their time. Ahead of that though, there were four days to catch up and, if possible, get ahead on schoolwork.
Good old homework. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do with myself when I come home from work here in the next couple of months. Watch TV? What’s that? Read a book for pleasure? Sounds good! We are all approximately a month-and-a-half away from graduation, and in talking with some grad students, the panic and sense of being incredibly overwhelmed are starting to set in and yes, I’m missing some aspects of my social life that was once upon a last May.
I know that at the end of this, we’ll all actually be in good shape even though a few of us are testy, irritated, exhausted and fried.
What also always throws anxiety into the mix for me is not necessarily the schoolwork that needs to be done, it’s the unexpected which there has been plenty of this last month or so, and has thrown me off my usual track.
These can be many things, such as a health situation or financial issues. I had two different forms of loss in six weeks time. One was the death of a family member. These things can infiltrate one’s studies and personal life on a daily basis and, personally, I am still learning to deal with them both internally.
So the goal this week is to focus and rest.
Saturday I completed my weekly four-page paper. Sunday I finally registered for an academic conference and tied up all loose ends for upcoming travel.
A productive day except for those comp questions.
Those comp questions!
I’m not even going to touch on those in this post.
Friday was restful. After a meeting with a contact at a studio, I laid down for a few hours before heading to see a Broadway show.
This was a healthy reminder of why we’re all working so hard. My friend had worked her way up to one of the lead roles. A lead in a Broadway show — a dream she had since she was little that she is currently living. All of her years of hard work and perseverance paid off and she looked at me and said, “You’ll be fine.”
Honestly this week, that has been the phrase I’ve heard the most and it is the phrase I’m going to pass along to you again as well.
“You’ll be fine.”
