Regenerative Christine

The things that have been mellowing me out the most are drawing/writing in my journal, working out, and driving long distances. Checking my email 348728972093 times a day isn't helping much unfortunately

It's a super unsettling and agonizing feeling- despite finishing my master's in June and being in a steady job right now that I love, i feel as though i have absolutely no stability. Everything right now just feels like a big question mark and I feel as though the days could not be any longer. I literally went so far as to trying to map out different scenarios for my life if I did/didn't get accepted to a PhD program. Wahhhhhh!

I am not sure how many of you on here have/had suffered from mental illness, but from those that do, I am curious to hear about your experiences in managing it. I've been a longtime sufferer of depression (since I was 12), but did not seek treatment/therapy until I was an undergrad. Currently a grad student, i've been on a relatively high dose of zoloft and xanax (prescribed as needed) for the past 2 years. I still have my panic attacks and paranoia every now and then, but overall therapy and medication has been my saving grace. I bring this up because there's often this misconception that grad students (even undergrads) give off an aura of "having your life together." I'm curious to see what anyone else has to say on the topic of mental health/illness.

It's just another one of those curiosity questions For myself, I'm thinking about 8-10 Urban Planning programs nationwide.

For those applying/who have applied to graduate programs with a December deadline, how early in advance do you write your SOP? Just to put things in perspective, I am applying to several Ph.D. programs and plan on working on my SOP in the coming weeks. Would just like to hear everyone else's plan of attack

Any PhD hopefuls attending/have attended this summer workshop? If so, let's connect!

Hi everyone! I'm in the third quarter of my grad program (aka Spring semester) and will be presenting my thesis proposal in June. My cohort and I have already completed a "mini" lit review during last quarter's research methods class, so I am relatively familiar with databases, using Zotero, etc. There are no page limits for the lit review (not sure if this holds true everywhere) in my specific program. I want to make sure I have "all my bases covered," but I want to be concise at the same time. My thesis topic is looking at community based public art potentially serving as an asset in underserved neighborhoods. Although I will be speaking to my chair sometime next week about the overall structure of my thesis proposal, I would like to see if anyone on here has some helpful tips on organizing your lit review. More importantly, recognizing when enough is enough lol. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I am a 27 year old woman who is volunteering for local government. i have recently been in correspondence with one of the higher ups (who happens to be single and 10 years older than me)-despite his position, i do not work directly under him. He has really been helpful in assisting me with potential research projects I could do for my upcoming grad school thesis. We've had several meetings so far and I just wanted some to gauge whether it is unusual or not... hmm..is this guy attracted to me or is he just really nice and wanting to help me with a thesis project?? He's usually been giving me little assignments to complete, and when I finish them up, I typically set up a 'meeting' with him. So here's the breakdown so far: First meeting - very professional and in his office Second meeting - have lunch at a local cafe and then head back to his place (all within walking distance). gives me a tour of his house and we hang out there for about an hour Third meeting - head directly to his place for lunch where we have leftovers, lets me know that i'm welcome to come over whenever i want. we sit outside and hang out for about an hour. What do you guys think? Any similar experiences?

The thing that is difficult is ultimately just going on with your life and trying to stay focused in the present- it really does seem like a waste at this point to look for full time work (I'm only working part time) when in reality there is a chance that I might be moving away in 6 months. Sometimes it literally feels as though we are putting our lives on hold, despite trying to stay focused on other "distractions." Although I've applied to 5 schools, I only really want to go to 1 and don't really want to have to force myself to fall in love with another program just for the sake of being in graduate school. This waiting has definitely been taking a toll on my mental health, that's for sure

I literally feel like I don't even want to talk to anybody until I find out the results. My dad asked me this morning about my status and what my plan B would be. I seriously just ended dumbfounded and preoccupied with all the anxiety that's currently going on in my head. The whole application experience (particularly the meeting/interview process) just felt like one elaborate date with somebody you are ready to make a pretty heavy investment to. It literally feels like I have just been waiting around for months to see if they're ready to take this "further", or if they'd rather "see other people." Lol, what an analogy

A disgusting test of patience. I literally feel mentally and physically sick waiting for the results. I feel like my life is on hold!

It's good to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't look forward to the weekend, lol. I continue to check my web portal too continuously throughout the day even though I know there won't be any changes. How masochistic is that? Lol

Not necessarily. Do you know anybody else who is applying to the same program as you? Have you been in contact with the department's secretary? I know that sometimes the answers that you're looking for can be pretty vague, but when I finally called last week, I got peace of mind knowing the final application review would be on the 18th of this month. I know some people who have applied to some programs at SDSU, and their supplemental applications aren't even due until April! So i guess it really varies.

How insane are you guys going right now? I know the final review for the specific department I'm applying to (Regenerative Studies) is not until March 18, but I just hate the feeling of not having any piece of mind! So unsettling. I know that the CSUs are slowly trickling out their decisions from what I've seen on the results page.

Man, I hate that whole game of being given the run around and have us experience these near death experiences. The fact that when you call they sound so nonchalant and you're on the other end sweating bullets! Horrible. Dealing with transcripts is another story... With all the $$$ that these schools have been taking from us, we should have transcripts submitted for free. Not just the first two or three, but ALL of them.

I wish I would have cared a little bit more about my GPA and classes I was taking during my undergrad. I had little guidance as far as what major I really wanted to pursue, and felt disillusioned by the end of my final semester with my overall transcript. I've always been ridiculously insecure about my GPA and felt that it was very limiting as to what schools I could apply for. If my GPA was more stellar, I would have applied to the UC schools, taking into consideration the research aspect of it. In the end, with a thorough amount of soul searching, I found a great way to utilize my undergrad education with my future graduate education.

So I get an email from the department claiming that admissions states that my application is incomplete-when in reality everything was turned in way before the deadline. I literally rushed to the student portal and saw that my application status was still complete. Spending the morning ping-ponging between phone calls with the department and the office of graduate admissions probably shaved a couple of years off my life + addition of some white hairs. WHEW what a scare. Anyone else run into that kind of terror??

Yeah, working out is DEFINITELY the way the go-best way to alleviate all the anxious feelings. It definitely is a better alternative to smoking cigarettes and pounding beers and lurking around aimlessly on gradcafe-not that I've ever done that before

The robins eggs in that purple bag, right?

M&M's aren't manufactured by Nestle, are they? Otherwise, I'm sure Nestle and Cadbury have joined forces. I guess I should add "getting a shamrock shake" as another thing to look forward to

CADBURY CREME EGGS ARE THE BEST

So it turns out I'll be hearing from my top choice (CP Pomona) by next week. Until then to alleviate my insane amounts of anxiety, I'm working on a few other things to be excited about. -Weekend volunteering at a local farm -Volunteering as an Art Teacher at a local Art Center -Painting for an upcoming gala -Integrating more Yoga/stretching -Preparation for the LEED Green Associate Exam in May It's funny because with all of that on my plate..all of these wonderful things going on in the present, it is INSANELY DIFFICULT to stay focused. What's everyone else doing to maintain their sanity? Positive and negative distractions welcome.

Between my sister and I, she was always the one who commanded that attention among the two of us as being 'the smart one.' Though she did a lot of soul searching throughout her years of schooling, she was always able to excel academically and stay well focused. I was and will continue to be insanely proud of her-I see how people react when I tell them about her..and so it made me think to myself i need to start looking at myself the way I look at my sister. I was not well focused throughout my years as an undergrad (8 years). I had little direction and dealt with bouts of depression and social anxiety. Both of my parents did not have a college education and were pretty taboo in talking about mental health, so there were countless semesters where I was in and out of school. My sis recently got her PsyD and I see how empowering that has been for her; not only as a Filipina-American woman but as the first on both sides of the family to earn a Doctorate. Applying to grad school at this point means the world to me-i feel like it would be this sort of redeeming experience to compensate for my lack of focus during undergrad.