redread

You and me both!

Dark Matter

Exam Fear

Woody turns nine this year (!!!), and Bailey is a mere five. Chocolates are so fantastic. What about yours?

Woody the Inbred Dog Bailey, hoping for salmon

I love Levenger's stuff, by the way. I work as a library assistant--a job that I don't necessarily love--and I find that I have actually gotten worse at this job because I obsessively try to find things to do to distract myself from obsessing over whether I will be accepted to a PhD program and what I will do if I am rejected. I exercise a lot, and I cook quite a bit. When I am at home and begin to freak out, I find myself just walking outside and taking some deep breaths to reset my mind. Taking the dogs around the block for a quick jaunt works, too. I don't remember freaking out this much when I applied for my master's. Good luck to you!

I'm so anxious. Part of me worries that I'll get rejected on a minor thing like a transcript coming in late. Here's to a nervous few months!

I've got my sample, SOP, and CV all ready, and I got to the end of the online application for SMU yesterday. I see that they use CollegeNET, which means that I don't get to upload my nicely formatted CV; rather, I have to put all of that info into a text box. I found it really frustrating, so I copied and pasted my awards and experience sections from my CV into a separate document and cleared all formatting. I'm trying to make it look nice enough in the CollegeNET form, but it's not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as my Word doc is. I'm considering emailing the grad department after I upload this application (tonight!) with my CV and SOP. I notified my professors who are writing LORs, and all seems to be running smoothly. I'm only applying to one school, so my stress level is fairly low, but I am working a 40 hr/wk gig and teaching online, so I have little free time.

...6,000 hours?

I also agree with using They Say/I Say--it's probably well worth your while to read this book even if you decide not to teach with it. I wish I'd had it as a first semester instructor, but I only came across it for the first time a few weeks ago. And about introducing literature, I've had great luck thrusting David Sedaris upon my students, and his writing is especially helpful for an example of humorous expository/personal narrative writing. Some students do still balk, but they will do so regardless of how interesting a text may be.

First: Congratulations! I'm also getting married in May 2012, but I'll just be finishing my MA in April 2012. Coming from the humanities, I'd have to say that there's no stigma attached to my decision. But that's also probably because the school is mostly female. Most of us seem to keep our names (as I'm going to do), and there tends to be a lot of nontraditional ceremonies. My fiance and I aim to get a lot of planning/DIYing done over this next summer/Winter break. I wish that I had some advice to offer, but I really just came here to congratulate you.

I love the freedom of my program--there are only four required courses for my MA; the rest are electives. Plus, the courses that I teach are left more or less to my discretion. I have to follow certain guidelines, but again, there's a fair bit of freedom. There are some definite downers to this program, but I can live with them. And Michigan has seasons, unlike Texas!

Ugh. Good luck. Do you at least have a template syllabus and course design to base this semester on, or are you completely on your own?

For my graduate assistantship, I teach one section of freshman comp. For us, it's pretty open, as long as I teach toward a set of core goals that the First Year Writing program has agreed upon. They claim that it should only take 20 hours per week, but I generally go far beyond that. Being in a position to see student writing excel in technical and cognitive areas over the course of 15 weeks is pretty amazing--assuming that the students are willing to work with you. I've had good luck, thus far, and hope that it stays that way. Good luck with your assistantship (if you choose to take it)!

I started a really hard Old English course last semester and knew that it'd take quite a bit of work, but still underestimated the amount of work that I could feasibly get done. Then I realized that I needed to know minute linguistic details...needless to say, I nearly shot myself in the foot. I know where you're coming from, and the only advice that I can give is to continue to ask questions and keep at it. Good luck!

After final papers were in, tests given and administered, and grades uploaded, I fell into this weird mental spot. I'm not sure if it was the result of exhaustion from the marathon of my first semester as a grad student and TA, that my mind was swimming in Old English, or something else, but it was just really hard to motivate myself to do anything. And Monday marked the first day of the Spring semester in wintry Michigan. I feel some of the same existential, "why does this matter" funk that I did last semester, only now it was more or less onset by walking into the classroom and seeing 22 strangers. It floored me to realize that this will characterize the rest of my teaching life--each Spring and Fall, with the exception of a few repeat offenders (as a great prof used to call us), I'll get a whole new batch of students. It's kind of wonderful and humbling at the same time. Has anyone else been dealing with anything similar?

Glad to find fellow Medievalists on here. I'm starting my MA at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo this fall to study Medieval literature (focusing more on the Anglo-Saxon OE side of things, though I do thoroughly enjoy working with Middle English). I hadn't really considered Western as an option--despite knowing that they hold the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies--and am looking forward to beginning this degree. I do not know if you're leaning toward an Arthurian or even Norse side of folklore, but I know that there are professors here who specialize in both. Oregon State is another great option, but know that they do require the GRE Literature test. Purdue's Arthurian scholars and overall Medieval program was my top choice last year, and they are worth the application fee. Good luck (and welcome to the dark side)!

I just moved to Kalamazoo, MI and have been preparing for my first day of grad school--I, too, feel like I'm a freshman all over again--by combing thrift stores and garage sales for semi-professional/casual clothing. I found the cutest Nine West tops at some woman's unassuming garage sale for $1 each, and I also found sweaters, button-up blouses, and other great items really cheaply. Another suggestion, though: Some friends of mine and I started a clothing swap two years ago every January. We would save up things throughout the year (or even just six months prior to the swap) and spend one evening drinking cocktails, eating appetizers, and trying on all of the clothing everyone had brought. I got a great suit from The Limited, two pairs of dress pants, and a blazer (with the tags still on) all for the price of a great night with my friends. The catch: Be sure to make friends with ladies who are already young professionals. They have nice clothing.

Anybody else going to WMU this fall? I'll be working on an MA in literature.

I'm still listed as "under review" for an MA application. Anybody else still waiting? Should I be concerned about not hearing from them, yet?

I've been accepted to Western Michigan University, but I don't know much about Kalamazoo or even Michigan. I'm particularly interested in the cost of living. The farmer's markets look pretty promising. Does anyone know how pet-friendly the city is (I've got two labrador retrievers)? Any information would be great!