lovekilledinos

Oh my god, I get people asking me about 'digging stuff up.' I'm like, 'That's Archaeology, which is a branch of Anthropology that studies the past. I'm more interested in present culture.' Cue a vague nod and something like, 'That must be hard!' No, it's no harder than anything else people study.

@eternallyephemera I have that same concern, both of my anthro classes are with my advisor. Which is nice, but I also want a little more diversity when it comes to instructors. That'll come later though, I suppose. @sjoh197 My family and friends roll their eyes whenever I start talking about school. I can't tell if it's because I talk about it too much or they're not interested in what I'm studying. @ETRXRock Good! I'm glad you're excited! That's what really got me too, was thinking about how awesome it'll be to learn about stuff I love. I'm also super nervous though because it's been a few years since I graduated or did anything remotely academic.

Hi! I'm starting my MA in Anthropology in August, I got to register for classes on Monday, which is pretty awesome. Unlike the stress of undergrad I was able to enroll in all the classes I wanted which is a huge relief. Ultimately I'm taking three (for a total of 9 units which is the maximum for grad students at my university). Anthropology of Media which examines non-western media, grassroots activism, transnational politics and all the joys of analytical frameworks in anthro and that awesome thing called representation. Theeen, outside of my department I'm taking a history of Chicano/a people in California, since I'm focusing on the racialization of media--through a Latin American lens--and currently excessively vague, I thought it was important to get a better understanding of the history of the people in the region. Finally I'm taking a theory class that discusses the problems of anthropological theory and the limitations of contemporary analytical methods in the field. Pretty excited. So what are you taking/looking forward to the most?

I've been doing a mix of work and studying! Though I'm about to quit my job so I can just do nothing before I have to do ~everything. It's a planned ending though, so I'm not just throwing myself out there to see what happens. As for studying, it's more that my adviser gave me a list of books to read so we can discuss them at our next meeting, so that's fun.

Holy heckhounds, I have to meet with one of my professors face to face on Monday to devise my academic plan. This has suddenly gotten a lot more real. I am so nervous. #impostorsyndrome.

I graduated in 2012 which feels like a very long time ago. This year I was accepted to the one university I applied to! Over the last few years I had the most fortunate opportunities to travel abroad. I went to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and then Kenya, but not all at once or in the same year. In between all that time I didn't do much of anything. Periods of crippling depression kept me from doing a lot of productive things so that I mostly spent my time home with my parents, messing around on the internet. Anyway, I eventually got a job washing dishes in Downtown Disney, an industry not the least bit relevant to my career goals or my degree. I had plans to go back to school by then but it helped to solidify my goals and my determination. Plus I saved boatloads of cash. In the time I took off, I've lived a lot and gained a lot, and I've had a chance to really figure out what I want to do with myself and it's for that reason that I do encourage taking a gap year (or more). It helps to give you room to breathe, to figure things out and to really give you that 'real life' experience some professors talk about. I'm a much more mature person at 26 than I was at 23. I know what I want to do now and I'm aware of what it's going to take and I think having done the things I have in the time I did has really helped. So you do you.

Totally, I work nights so I didn't get the letter until 11pm last night! I'm going to call just as soon as they open. Update. Called. Woo! I'm on the list.

Hello! I applied to an MA program and was admitted, woo! However, the letter came via snail mail today, May 12th, and said I had to let the department know if I intended to accept, giving me a deadline of May 10th which is, you know, 2 days too late. I emailed the department as soon as I read the letter, but does anyone have experience with this sort of thing?

I work in a restaurant. I got my knife sharpened (which requires leaving it overnight at the shop!) and my sister flaked on me after promising she'd take me to get it this morning. She didn't bother with a courtesy call telling me she wasn't coming after all, despite knowing I needed it for work and had to be there in a few short hours. All of this made difficult by the fact I don't have my driver's license and need to take the bus everywhere. At least give me the courtesy of telling me you aren't coming so I can make an alternate plan.

Oh man, did you get a FinAid letter from CSULA? I got my financial aid package (grants and loans!) but no decision letter yet. Ffff.

Oommg. Congrats! By email or snail mail?? I'm so anxious!

Waiting for CSULA for an MA in Sociological Anthropology. I applied Dec. 18th.

I'm first generation, too. My mom graduated high school but my dad dropped out around 10th grade. He was never very good at reading and couldn't even spell my name, but he worked hard all his life as a laborer in various industries from fruit picking to construction. Jack of all trades, master of none. Mom's floated around medical fields for 30 years but never got much higher than a certified nurse's assistant, now she's a scheduler in a doctor's office. They wanted me to go to and finish school but they honestly had no idea how to support me through any of it. I did all of it on my own and I still am while I work for my MA. It's been a difficult road from the get-go, but I've realized I'm a pretty strong, determined person.

My portal still says my application is incomplete. GDI, anxiety, knock it off.

CSULA closes April 4th. Good luck!

This breaks my heart in so many ways. How awful that we've allowed others to make us limit ourselves due to negative perceptions. I had a similar problem--tangentially related, honestly--a few years ago while in undergrad; I got accepted to study abroad in Russia but for a while there I debated if I should go or not, because I felt that as a person of color, I didn't want to deal with racism in a country with which I was not personally familiar. Then I thought to myself, well screw that. Why should we stop living our lives because others are jerks? Why deny myself the experiences, opportunities and chances to do something amazing because I'm afraid of what others would say or do? So I went abroad, fat Mexican girl and all, and I had a great time. I'm like 5'2" on a good day, I weighed in close to 300lbs at the time. I know absolutely what you ladies are feeling right now. If you ever wanna talk about weight, weight issues or even your relationship to food, I'm totally willing to chat. I've lost more than 100lbs between 2012 and 2014.

I wish I felt ready for PhD. Instead MA here I come! Just waiting on letters of recommendation and my final transcript to be mailed, since I made the mistake of ordering it just before Christmas.. while campus is closed for the holidays. Oh well. ETA I have no idea how to delete double posts, sorry!

I wish I felt ready for PhD. Instead MA here I come! Just waiting on letters of recommendation and my final transcript to be mailed, since I made the mistake of ordering it just before Christmas.. while campus is closed for the holidays. Oh well.

Oh man. Submitted my applications. Now it's out of my hands. #done.

My community college professor told me she'd write a LoR if I didn't have anyone else to do it. Her reasoning? She said community college references wouldn't carry as much weight to admissions committees as one from my UC professors would. What are your thoughts? Of course I've emailed the one UC professor whose office hours I stalked twice a week for an entire quarter, but beyond that I'm kind of at a loss who to ask. I need a hug.

Truth. I only mentioned it in my SoP because that's basically been my motivation to go back to school. Let me tell you how much cooking is not what I want to be doing with my life. I didn't wax poetic about my trips abroad, but I definitely plugged in a sentence about BEING abroad. It tied into my research topic which is basically all I needed it to do. Would any of you be interested in reading it?

All this talk of SoPs and I'm sitting here staring at mine like, 'wtf.' I have one solid paragraph that discusses my research interests/questions I want to pursue and the rest is a lot of red and caps telling myself to connect thoughts. What does your opening sentence say? I have a few variations and none of them sound at all appealing. General question though, I graduated in 2012 but I went abroad several times over the last three years (Eastern Europe and Kenya. Talk about differences!), the only work experience I have is not at all related to either my previous goals or my future ones since I'm a line cook in a restaurant. Should I address the gap and just say hey, I'm finally in a place to pursue higher education? Or, you know, talk about what a ride it's been since undergrad.

Oh man, I've narrowed my choices down to two schools (both CalState) and I've started a draft of the SOP. I graduated in 2012 from UC Santa Cruz and now it's about time I jump back into the swing of things. Nervous as heck, but that's all a part of the process!