woooosah

this is my woosah face.

the first week of my 2nd (and last) semester is done for me and i am already looking at my schedule and thinking, "what the hell was i thinking?!?" last semester was a great success and i was able to juggle all 4 of my classes, but this semester i decided to take 2 modules (half semester classes), 2 full semester classes and an independent study. because...well, when graduate school is only for a year and every class sounds amazing and you want to work with many different professors, you make it work. 

some pluses about my classes:

the readings are all amazing. so what if i have to read entire books and articles every single week? they are definitely interesting.

i'm in a writing workshop class where i get to write personal essays. this has me thinking i want to write a whole book of personal essays.

my professors are all amazing. i feel like i am in the presence of superstars and i'm hoping their awesomeness rubs off on me.

my friends are in my classes! and they are the smartest people i know here so you can only imagine how amazing my study groups are.

i only have class on tuesdays and wednesdays. but that doesn't mean i slack off the rest of the week. looking for a job after this place, meetings, reading and writing takes over. it's intense.

xoxo,

dtm

school update

i get a TON of questions about school and i am always unsure of how to answer them. i typically like to be honest with my answers but i also don't want people to think that i am ungrateful for this opportunity that i have been granted. don't get me wrong - i feel fortunate and lucky for this experience.

so here are the answers to those questions i get so often in no particular order:

how's school? it's good. i am enjoying the classes, for the most part, and have learned some interesting things. are there classes i wish i hadn't taken? hell yes. but i just need to remember it's one year of my life so whatever classes i am taking, i need to accept.

is harvard hard? look, are all elite schools hard? not always. yes, there is a buttload of reading and writing i need to do all of the time but, i am convinced, that the only way to fail a class here is to not do a damn thing. as long as you're keeping up with the reading and writing, it's fine.

how do you like boston? HATED IT (cue men on film). boston is the worst place. it's cold, grey all the time, confusing. i miss ny and boston will never ever be home.

are you really smart? this is such a silly question. i'm probably as smart as the next guy so i can't go around bragging about my smarts. yes, there is a level of smartness and skill that goes into being admitted to a place like harvard BUT it's not rocket science. it takes a well-written essay, great references and some luck.

so i leave you off here - with pics from instagram of the times when i was working damn hard on something at school. arg.

re: last weekend

the bff visited me over the weekend and it was nice to have a little bit of ny here. 

we basically:

drank from this giant bowl on friday night.

took a DTM tour of campus and found this building, which is the same name as a friend of ours.

drank hot chocolate at burdick's. twice.

checked out some really old cemeteries. 

watched this tour group on segways (it was weird).

after she left, i needed to get some work done so i headed to the largest library on campus (the 2nd largest in the USA):

before i went on a haunted tour of campus.

spooky....

weather

i hate this weather. i hate how it rains one second and is sunny the next. i hate how suddenly it's cold. i hate how grey it is most days and that the sun only shines about one day out of the week. i thought NY was bad, but this is torture for people with seasonal depression (not saying that is me but it's just a thought).

and yes, that is a picture of a puddle that i took. for class.

wonderful ideas?

one of my favorite graduate classes is called "the having of wonderful ideas" but it's probably one of the hardest classes to explain to people. it sounds like a real hippie type of class but it has to be the class where i feel the most inspired! i'm clearly drinking whatever lemonade the professor is serving up in class.

the quick and dirty of the class is this:

we spend every week learning how to follow people's thinking in order to help them learn more about a given thing/topic/new idea. this class consists of demonstrations during class time that inform the fieldwork (aka - experiments) that we do on other people, fieldwork reports, small group sections where we talk about the ideas together, weekly journaling to think deeply about what we are learning, lots of readings and a moon journal. yes, i said a moon journal.

because moon journaling seems to intrigue people the most, i will say that the general idea is to (almost) daily write down any observations we have of the moon. we are not allowed to look up anything about the moon though. through our observations, we should be coming up with questions and ideas about the moon. when we discuss it in class and section, i love to hear people talk about the emotional and personal connections they have made with the moon and what they are learning. we are all learning different things, which makes us also learn from each other. it's fascinating.

here are my moon journal entries that i keep in a mini moleskin the boo's mother bought me when i left ny:

so if you notice the moon, think of me. add to my observations. i would love to hear about what other people are observing!

and so it has begun

that's right, ladies and gentlemen - the school year has officially started! you're looking at a lady who stepped foot into a classroom after being out of school for (GASP) 8 years. i worry that i won't be able to keep up, that the readings won't make any sense, that my writing will suck. and then i remember. i got into this place. i think i'll be fine.

i am taking the awesomest classes (more about that later), meeting really amazing people, and feeling inspired by all of my professors already. sometimes i wonder, "is this really my life now?"

but i have to admit that i am missing home more than i ever imagined. leaving the place that has been my home for my entire life has really turned life upside down. sometimes i wonder:
how did i ever make it in ny?
how did i ever make friends!?
how did i ever discovere the bars that i love and the restaurants i will never find anywhere else?
is that all going to be possible here?
i know that this may seem extreme since this experience will only be for 9 months, but it really has me thinking...all of the ny transplants - i salute you! it certainly can't be easy to make a new life in a huge city like ny! but...it gives me hope that my new life will be just as rewarding and that i will learn more about this city in the 9 months that i will be here than any other city.

i might possibly be rambling right now. i've been waking up way before my alarm goes off for no apparent reason. if anyone knows how to stop that from happening, i am all ears.

and just to prove that i am still alive and kicking here in boston, that pic above is for you!

SMART goals

my thinking journal.

my good friend asked me to make some SMART goals for myself before the official school year starts, so i took the time this week to put something together. i thought i would share these goals on my blog as a way to stay accountable to them. here they are:

academic - can't i just say, "kick ass?!?" ok, seriously, i am going to try and develop study groups for at least half of the courses i am taking each semester in order to help me academically. i am also going to utilize all resources that are available to me in order to help me with school (you have to remember i went to pratt and going to the library and the writing center are super foreign to me). that includes a writing workshop i signed up for already, a reading workshop i plan on doing next week, a workshop on utilizing your ipad for school, etc.

social - accept invitations that are extended to me during the month of september (but think twice about accepting one that costs $$). after september, accept 50% of the invitations that are extended to me. invitations exclude anyone who might ask me out on a date!

networking - join at least 2 student groups during the school year. especially ones that are connected to professors that i am interested in getting to know. at least one of the student groups must be about diversity.

i'm adding this piece that i heard at the student of color orientation as well:

"find my voice. quickly. share."

thoughts?

cribs edition

i have been in cambridge for 3 days now (i can count the hours but figured that would be pretty extra) which means that i have had time to unpack, go food shopping, set up my space, meet up with 2 of my friends here, and spend some time walking around the neighborhood. i think i have a fear of getting lost or looking like a tourist though so i am sticking to the routes i currently know. 

i had some requests on twitter for some pics of my new abode, aka - the 9x9 living quarters. although i think my room might be a tiny bit larger than that...and when i mean tiny, we're talking inches. it's hard to take pics of a space that's kinda tight but i tried my damn hardest.

a pic last night of the dresser area and then this AM:

what's on top of my dresser

my studying area:

 the bro-in-law decided i need a monitor to watch movies/tv off of my computer but on a larger screen. he's so sweet.

where the magic happens:

 the piece on the wall is a cambodian sarong that was gifted to me by my coworker. it's beautiful. 

and yes i have 3 damn patterns going on in my room. deal with it. (if you have a suggestion for a better spot for the sarong, leave it in the comments section).

 my closet. it's packed in there:

 those shelves are a gift from god! threw some sweaters in there, some shoes. it worked out well.

my windowsill and then my bookshelf area:

the bookshelf is really my pantry shelf since it's next to my fridge.

and me by my desk pretending to be studious:

i have a few days before stuff really jumps off so i'll be here...in my room...on the computer...well, not really. i'm trying to meet up with some classmates and hang out with my 2 friends. everyone knows someone who knows someone who lives out here so hook it up! i'm looking for folks to hang out with.

xoxo from cambridge!

back to school stuff

my favorite time of year since i was little - back to school shopping! and since i am about to be a poor graduate student, i have picked up a few items for the upcoming year.

1. don't judge but i bought this blazer because i thought it would make me look smart. i love the color, it's thick enough to wear in the fall with sweaters, and the inside print is just so beautiful.

 h&m

2. saw someone on tumblr post this amazing bag with their initials on it so i went ahead and ordered one (for myself, my mom and my sister). i've been using it all summer to lug around my summer reading, water bottle, lunch and a few other books because i just couldn't wait to use it. it's amazing.

 ll bean

3. i originally bought this dress for my bday and then decided to wear the skirt version i also bought instead. i can't wait for some fancy event up at school where i can wear this dress with some nice heels.

romwe

4. i.love.moleskin. PERIOD. so i bought this 18 month, soft shell, large daily planner to help me get my life together while i'm away. i love it.

 moleskin

i think i'm ready for school...maybe?

and just for fun here's a gif i made on my phone of that fantastic universe print dress i bought:

nerd alert

school is making me into a straight up nerd and i haven't even stepped on campus. i walk around reading books about teaching, assign myself summer reading, write a lot more and genuinely take interest in talking to people about their school experiences. no joke.

but if you follow me on instagram or twitter, you already know all of this. 

summer reading that was assigned to me by school - "who's teaching your children?" 

and summer reading that i assigned myself - "pedagogy of the oppressed."

i've also been compiling some awesome resources, articles and quotes on my tumblr blog. this is serious, people.

serious nerd alert.