Post by ENGAGE administrator on Jul 27, 2013 18:30:33 GMT -5
Is research all you are doing this summer? Doug's post will surely make you smile! Check below!
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Oooh … a little red indicator! For a raging extrovert like myself, facebook messages are social media crack (from what I’m told … since I’ve never done crack … actually people who do crack don’t talk to me … does one “do crack”? … I digress). Quickly I open this communication love nugget to read, “Doug! Could you write something for Engage … it should be 2-3 paragraphs long and it should be about positive things in grad school. It is for boosting the morale of everyone.”
No problem! I love boosting morale! This shouldn’t be hard. Like all good students, I immediately go to Google. I type in “Grad school is” and get:
• Grad school is hard!
• Grad school is hell!
• Grad school is killing me!
Okay? Let’s try something new. I type in “why is grad school so…” I get:
• Why is grad school so hard?
• Why is grad school so expensive?
• Why is grad school so stressful?
Getting panicked I write “Grad school fun”. Google asks if I’m searching for:
• Grad school where fun goes to die?
Dang it! Clearly this isn’t working … I need a new approach. I know! I’ll make everyone feel better by comparison and list things I did before grad school that sucked. Here it goes:
• Selling grave plots at the local cemetery. That sucked.
• Begging for a night cleaning position. That sucked.
• Sending a days’ worth of cover letters before realizing that all of them had the misprint “I’m excellent at teaching college students *pubic speaking*. That definitely sucked.
Shoot! Not helping! Not only did I fail to boost everyone’s morale; now I’m depressed! Whoever sent me this message clearly ran out of options if they were asking me! Life in grad school must be the worst!
But then I remember one thing: it’s not the worst … not even close. I actually kind of like grad school. In fact, I really like grad school. Granted, I don’t want to be a student forever, but I am most assuredly enjoying the process, and Purdue is a great place. I don’t need a search engine or a list of horrible alternatives to convince me of that.
Can grad school sometimes be hard, punishing, and exhausting? Yes. Is it a sacrifice, and sometimes a stressful one? Yes. Is it sometimes no fun? You bet! But to quote JFK, we choose to do these things “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Not everyone’s experience will be the same, but my Purdue grad school experience so far has been: I get to chat with the smartest people I’ve ever met on a daily basis. I have a kick-butt advisor who knows her stuff and has my back. I study with world class professors. I teach at an R1 university. I am regularly introduced to experiences and opportunities I never could have imagined. I have amazingly cool and intelligent classmates. I am studying interesting things, doing impressive things, and working with incredible people. And wherever I go, I can proudly say, “I go to Purdue.”
That was longer than 2-3 paragraphs. Sorry. Hope your morale was suitably boosted …
Oooh … just got another message! Gotta go!
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Doug Pruim is a a masters student in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue. Thank you Doug for this post!
=================
Oooh … a little red indicator! For a raging extrovert like myself, facebook messages are social media crack (from what I’m told … since I’ve never done crack … actually people who do crack don’t talk to me … does one “do crack”? … I digress). Quickly I open this communication love nugget to read, “Doug! Could you write something for Engage … it should be 2-3 paragraphs long and it should be about positive things in grad school. It is for boosting the morale of everyone.”
No problem! I love boosting morale! This shouldn’t be hard. Like all good students, I immediately go to Google. I type in “Grad school is” and get:
• Grad school is hard!
• Grad school is hell!
• Grad school is killing me!
Okay? Let’s try something new. I type in “why is grad school so…” I get:
• Why is grad school so hard?
• Why is grad school so expensive?
• Why is grad school so stressful?
Getting panicked I write “Grad school fun”. Google asks if I’m searching for:
• Grad school where fun goes to die?
Dang it! Clearly this isn’t working … I need a new approach. I know! I’ll make everyone feel better by comparison and list things I did before grad school that sucked. Here it goes:
• Selling grave plots at the local cemetery. That sucked.
• Begging for a night cleaning position. That sucked.
• Sending a days’ worth of cover letters before realizing that all of them had the misprint “I’m excellent at teaching college students *pubic speaking*. That definitely sucked.
Shoot! Not helping! Not only did I fail to boost everyone’s morale; now I’m depressed! Whoever sent me this message clearly ran out of options if they were asking me! Life in grad school must be the worst!
But then I remember one thing: it’s not the worst … not even close. I actually kind of like grad school. In fact, I really like grad school. Granted, I don’t want to be a student forever, but I am most assuredly enjoying the process, and Purdue is a great place. I don’t need a search engine or a list of horrible alternatives to convince me of that.
Can grad school sometimes be hard, punishing, and exhausting? Yes. Is it a sacrifice, and sometimes a stressful one? Yes. Is it sometimes no fun? You bet! But to quote JFK, we choose to do these things “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Not everyone’s experience will be the same, but my Purdue grad school experience so far has been: I get to chat with the smartest people I’ve ever met on a daily basis. I have a kick-butt advisor who knows her stuff and has my back. I study with world class professors. I teach at an R1 university. I am regularly introduced to experiences and opportunities I never could have imagined. I have amazingly cool and intelligent classmates. I am studying interesting things, doing impressive things, and working with incredible people. And wherever I go, I can proudly say, “I go to Purdue.”
That was longer than 2-3 paragraphs. Sorry. Hope your morale was suitably boosted …
Oooh … just got another message! Gotta go!
============
Doug Pruim is a a masters student in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue. Thank you Doug for this post!
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