Things I Totally Forgot In The 16 Months Between College And Grad School

I looked up a reading on one of my syllabi today and about passed out when I had to flip the page to see what was on week five. I've been in school for exactly a month--unbelievable!

What's also unbelievable is that "fact" about the brain only holding a million pieces of information--and which pieces fall out to make room for new ones. Behold...

Things About School I Totally Forgot In The 16 Months Between College And Grad School:

• It's hard! I mean it's doable, but hard. Grad school considerably more so than college I'd say, but in either case, it takes a good few weeks to get into the groove, figure out what you absolutely have to do and what can slide if necessary and just get your brain moving after a, um, little break.
• There's homework! A lot of it. Man, is there a lot. And there's never a break: Just when you think you must have hit the bottom of the pile, you flip the page of the syllabus and start all over again. There is always more biostats where that came from, and it's impossible to ever feel as if you're ahead of the game (or that you're not irreversibly behind).
• You feel stupid! Or maybe that's just me...? But I think there's a tendency to assume, when slumped over in epidemiology, staring blankly at the PowerPoint, that the person to your right understands every word and the one to the left aces every exam. It seems like everyone's had a cooler internship, more impressive job or Fulbright. WTF am I doing in this company? And I forget reeeally quickly that wait a second, I've done some cool stuff, too. I get most of this. And hey, the school let me in.
• You're busy! It's easy to forget that there's a lot more to school that sitting in class and studying for tests. There are group projects and meetings and presentations and advisors and events and parties and study sessions, and they don't all happen on weekdays between the hours of 9 and 5 (unfortunately). The whole school-life balance thing is harder than it sounds. Especially when you're like me: Homework on weekends is like having 27 root canals.
• It's a rush! Now maybe I am just a total nerd, but I love the feeling of putting the final period at the end of a paper I know I wrote well, turning in a test I know I was prepared for, having a concept I'd been struggling with all of a sudden click. There's definitely something to be said for an easy class, but looking back, I've always gotten the most of the courses that were most challenging (read: painful) at the time.
• It's...fun?! Again, I may be a nerd. But I like school! Really. I love hearing about the experiences of my professors and classmates and learning things I know I'll use in a future career (sorry undergrads, that might be more of a grad school thing :) ...). The best thing for me is just seeing what's out there and what I can explore that I never even knew existed. I realize I need to narrow my focus sooner rather than later, but I'm skeptical that I'll ever truly be able to do that. 

Overall, I'm happy I decided to go back to school. I struggled with the decision big time, but hey, I'm not out there in the scary economy, the job market should recover by the time I hit it with two master's degrees, I'm using my brain (or what's left of it) and I'm busy, just as I like it--ignore my whining, and don't let me convince you otherwise. :)

More about school to come. I realize I've been sort of hush-hush about it and that a lot of you probably want the MPH scoop. I've been busy, not secretive. You'll get your scoop, I promise.

And, as always, question away in the comments. No question is a dumb question (and if it is, there's always the anonymous posting option...). 

Thanks to Gaetan Lee for the brain photo!