What I learned during my Master's

I AM A #MASTERS!!!! This was technically official in January because I finished up my degree in December 2019, but this past weekend was supposed to be graduation. I wanted to post this now in honor of all 2020 grads. The past year and a half has been crazy. I learned a lot, stressed a lot, took a lot of exams, and felt every emotion on the spectrum. Lol, but its real and true. I really think education is one of the best investments you can make for yourself. You will learn so much about yourself. You will also learn so many important life skills along with what you are studying. And, an investment in education can be anything; it can be downloading that language app to learn [insert desired language here], or taking an online class because you find it interesting, or  maybe it is going back to school to get that degree/graduate degree. Whatever it is, do it. You will learn a lot about yourself in the end.

Collaboration over competition. // Ok, so there is obviously still competition, and there are a lot of competitive people in my field. BUT, a sane person, me, realizes that it is much more effective to work with your classmates, rather than work against them. They are your biggest resource. You can help each other by teaching things you understand that others do not, and vice versa. I did do a lot of solo studying, but I tried to sync up my studying time with a friend or two, so incase anyone had questions, you had a friendly face there to help! It can also be anxiety producing to ask a professor a question, but if you go with a friend, or ask a friend first before going to the instructor, it makes it easier. 

Better time management. // I always felt I had good time management skills; I was always pretty good at managing when I was fairly busy. I did a lot of activities growing up, and think that helped me know how to prioritize things. BUT, my courses and corresponding work load during grad school was a good kick in the butt. The past 1.5 years have really put my time management skills to the ultimate test, especially when you have several exams in one week. A lot of my lectures for one class felt like there were an entire semester jammed into 2 hours, so the work load could be insane. I did manage to graduate with straight A's, so my time management skills came out on top, in my opinion!

When to take a break. // I think it is really unhealthy when I hear people talk about how they can just sit there for hours and hours doing work/studying, etc. Your brain, I think, works so much better if you stop what your doing for 5 minutes and focus on something else. I definitely learned when I need a break because I will not be productive, and will not pay attention to what I am doing. This has been a great tool for maximizing my study time, and increasing productivity.

You cannot force motivation. // I do not have much to add here besides if you have 0% motivation one day, forcing yourself to do something that takes a lot of brain power and that can back fire, and you will probably not retain anything. i.e., you will waste time.

Comparison is not good for the soul. // It is not good to compare yourself to others. Period. You know your abilities and what you can do, and that is what matters. Do not feel like you are not doing enough when someone else is farther ahead in material, or understands something better than you. It will come together, and you know how to do that for you.

Learn what is Important to you. //  I think I learned pretty quickly some of the top things that are important to me. These will be different depending on you, but overall know these will make life easier, and will make you a better you and student.

Have an outlet. // Having other passions when you are in a high-stress, rigorous program/job/etc. is what is going to keep you going. It is not possible to think about studying and coursework 100% of the time..you will burn out and lose interest. I absolutely love having this space as an outlet and community, as well as, reading, needlepoint, and exercising. All of those things make me better at what I do, and draw my closer to my why and dreams.

My last tidbit is to eat the cake, drink the wine, enjoy yourself 💖.

Congrats class of 2020! 🎉🎓

As always,

#dontforgetyourpearls