Teaching Faculty Wannabe

I think it’s totally fine to wear tennis shoes, especially given your circumstances. If someone doesn’t want to work with you because of your shoes, then I think that’s a red flag that their priorities are in the wrong place. 

I think it’s totally fine to wear tennis shoes, especially given your circumstances. If someone doesn’t want to work with you because of your shoes, then I think that’s a red flag that their priorities are in the wrong place. 

When it comes to answering this question, I usually talk about where I studied and the degree I got. I then say why I am interested in this subject, delving into my specific research interests. I then say what I want to do during my PhD and after my PhD.
Here are some questions you want to prepare yourself for:
 
I skimmed over these question and thought of answers I might have, but I didn't really practice a lot. I just didn't want to be surprised during my phone interviews.
I hope this helps!

@sgaw10 I am so sorry. I think I remember you talking about your parents, especially your mom's, misunderstanding of grad school and the finances that come with it. I think what your family needs to learn is that you are an adult now. You have your own life. You can't stop everything for them and they should get that. I am sorry they don't and make you feel guilty, especially during the start of grad school which already has multitudes of stressfullness in of itself.
I wish I could provide a solution, but I don't think there is much you can do per se but be honest with them. Once you do, then your family has to change. You can't change them, sadly.

Anybody else receive the email today? 

Hey everyone!
I wanted to start a forum where people can ask questions about various topics related to adulthood, especially for those that didn't have to worry about it much until now.  So, feel free to ask questions about:
Health care and health insurance Budgeting Having a pet Owning a car Renting and renter's insurance Finding an apartment How to files taxes Having children Moving and its costs Vacationing And else you can think of FYI, I am nowhere near an expert. I created this to get a discussion going.

Check out this website: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/
There are other websites that have tips and recipes on meal prepping. I hope this helps!

I also Finally got an email saying GEM signed my contract!
My status also changed to a GEM Fellow. 
Took long enough but it's better late than never. 
 
 

Just saw the email. GEM Fellow also!

Just checked egem, the portal states I am a GEM Fellow!!!!

Taking a gap year was worth it! I went into the internship I am doing now refreshed and ready to work!

I asked a man I am interested in for coffee. He has accepted. but I don't know if he is single... I hope so. (Maybe he thinks my invitation was a friendly one.). 
I pitched an idea to a journal for an article today.
I went to see a free music concert yesterday.

My reviewers really liked when I talked about my community outreach activities in my personal statement. I think it matters a lot for the broader impacts criteria of the fellowship. Also, think of a research project that has a good broader impact. The first year I applied (senior year), I just said that my contributions would help my field. This time around (first year grad), my broader impacts were contributions to my field but also how it could be applied to under-served communities, and the reviewers really liked that. 

I think LoRs mean a lot as well, so if you can find professors/PIs who are willing to put the time in to write a really good letter, it would help your application a lot. In my case, I had one PI who was an NSF fellow during her PhD. She also hasn't had a student win the award yet even though she has all her students apply. So the combination of knowing what reviewers wanted and the motivation to have an advisee win made her dedicate a lot of time to the LoR. Another letter writer mentioned that he knows that a lot reviewers like to hear that you want to go into academia, so if that is something you plan on doing definitely mention it.
I didn't really do this, but a lot of people say to have experienced grad students or even professors read your proposal. So maybe do that too.
 
They release the names and schools of all the winners. I guess it would be easy to figure out if you download the excel sheet, arrange by school, and isolate the ones that are R2s and see what the difference is.
However, I don't think institution matters. They fund the students, not the programs. 

@IceCream & MatSci  I did receive that

I would say that if you are not ready for that sort of commitment, then it might be best to break up. Sadly, sometimes love isn't enough. Love is complicated, complex, and can be hard. You really have to be committed to that fact and the person you love in order to make it work, long-distance or not.

Just to further expand on SIgaba's great advice about housing and renting. I built homes in my teen years with my family and cannot emphasize the importance of checking pipes, electric outlets, and signs for termites/ants/insects. These three problems caused me the most headaches because the issue could be a one day fix or several weeks to month-long fix.
If you have a piping issue, it could be something as simple as opening the trap and removing a bunch of hair from it (I'm looking at the women and super hairy men here) or it could be something as severe as a cracked pipe buried deep in the guts, which could force you to leave the unit for months. If you open the pipes and hear a rattling sound, immediately ask the landlord how long the water was shut off to the apartment. 9 times out of 10, the sound is merely air being forced out of the pipes, but it could also be a much worse/hidden problem. If you live in the Northern US, make sure to ask the landlord if the pipes ever froze shut. Today, most homes never experience their pipes freezing, but it can happen frequently to older homes, which may lead to problems down the road.
As for electric outlets, make sure they are flush to the wall, secured in the wall (or to the wall, depends on the type of outlet), and the cover is not damaged. If the cover is damaged, ask to see the outlet itself to ensure that it is only a broken cover and not a broken outlet. Broken outlets can easily start fires for any reason, a simple surge could spark the carpeting, wooden framing, or the drywall. The last thing you need to know, this might be more of a post-move-in thing, is the layout of the house and the location of breakers according to the rooms. Overloading and causing a breaker to trip is normal and not a problem, but can become one if you do it on a regular basis.
Termites/ants/insects are the worst problem, in my opinion. Here are the signs of termites. If there are any insects, leave immediately. You do not know if the insects just arrived or have been there for several years. If they have been around for years, then you can bet there is structural damage to some parts of the area they are in, mainly doors, windows, and wooden framing. Sure, you can fix the problem, but remember, you are renting, not rent-to-own or owning.
I don't mean to scare anyone into not renting, but you need to be informed when renting. The rights of renters vary greatly across the US and you need to know everything about a potential space before signing your name. The absolute last thing someone needs in the middle of graduate school is a major problem with their home and no means of recourse because you did not point it out to the landlord before signing the contract.

If you're going to live in an area that is humid, double paned windows may also help to prevent the spread of mold/mildew in your residence.
IRT utilities, I recommend trying to get a sense of the costs assuming residency by calendar year rather than academic year. It's easy enough to say "I'll just open a window when it's hot and put on extra layers when it's cold" on a nice day. However, when you're going through the day to day perpetually soul crushing grind, er, always enriching experience of graduate school, it can become ever easier to say "When I get home, I'm going to relax like it's the summer/winter of 74."

Oh yeah I totally agree with the leading on thing! It's why I didn't let the situation draw out.
I actually had a situation similar to yours right when I was leaving working as a tech and going into grad school (so last summer). The situation turned so abusive I no longer consider the person a friend and I've honestly just started to really seriously heal from it. 
That's also why I knew it wouldn't work, because with how early I am in healing from that, I need to feel really secure if I were to go into a relationship right now. 

I am so sorry about your parents, especially your mother, for not understanding. I hope one day they do!

Sending good vibes and love! Hopefully one day it will feel worth it!

I am so sorry about your parents, especially your mother, for not understanding. I hope one day they do!

I gave my employer three months notice when I accepted a funding offer. Everyone was excited for me and told me how appreciated I was (which nobody ever does until you leave). Then, they started to get bitter when they had to go through the hiring process and re-structure the office. They've made me move my physical office multiple times, keep "forgetting" to include me in important emails, and nobody will quit mentioning that I'm "leaving them." On top of that, I'm leaving my entire support network soon for five years, my partner and I have decided that the distance won't work but we're "enjoying what we have left", my new car broke down irreparably so when I do move I can't ever visit home or get around my new city, I'm not sure I can bring any of my belongings with me without a vehicle, my family is struggling with physical and mental health, and I can't afford to re-start my medication on this very terrible insurance (which is currently denying to pay for my last visit). I feel helpless, lonely, and selfish for leaving for yet another degree. 
On the bright side, my school found out they had a bit of additional grant money to award and chose me to receive it on top of my funding. I may be able to buy a moped to get to the grocery store, which is pretty neat. ?

Stressed about school and I’m not even in class yet! My program orientation is this summer and it just HAPPENS to be the exact weekend that my parents and I are going out of country on vacation for a few weeks to celebrate my graduation last year. This trip has been In the works for over a year and we are not about to push it all off/ move around reservations just for three days of orientation. 
The thing that I’m miffed about is I tried contacting the program office to see if they had an alternate day set up in the future or any possible way I could receive the same information so I wouldn’t be “behind”. They replied with an email full of typos and basically said “we don’t plan on it rn we’ll let you know later if plans change” without acknowledging whether or not I could get any information. 
Ah and my transcripts still haven’t arrived and I’m so nervous about making sure everything’s all checked off the list and I won’t accidentally be kicked out for missing steps. I THOUGHT THE STRESS WOULD END ONCE I GOT ACCEPTED!!!,
thank u all for listening ❤️❤️

I finally found a mobile vet who put her down on Friday. She had lots of banana and I held her for about 30 minutes before she was put down. At this point, she couldn't even really hold herself up, but still had her personality and wanted to eat banana and give me kisses. She fell asleep while eating banana and then vet put her down, so it was very peaceful.

Update:
I turned him down. It was the right thing to do. But I also feel horrible because I REALLY want to be in a relationship. But I know that a relationship with him wouldn't be healthy for me. 
I'm so tired I can barely move. And I don't know if it's from the field work or from him.
I should be reading some Ethnographies but I feel like I just need to sleep.