keepOnKeepingOn

Well, I appreciate all the replies. One problem is that I have not made any friends in graduate school. I only am there to get a degree, I am a bit shy, and I do not have time to socialize as I am commuter student who works more than full-time. There just aren't any people I would feel comfortable speaking to about this situation, even my original advisor who seemed partially sympathetic, but has been on sabbatical for a whole year. These people believe I deceived them. They believe I lied about significant personal issues. I wish I could scream the truth, but I do not want to even acknowledge all this silliness and part of me would rather have them believe I lied than have them know the truth (or any more about my personal affairs). I really do not think it affects my grades, as I do above average work and put in a lot of effort. But I think those people who do have a problem with me cannot fully prove some of their allegations, and hopefully they do not have the time to be relentless in their pursuit of and criticism about something so insignificant and immature. Because the recent quick progression of my career, I think I some of my fellow students will be working for me, rather than the other way around ( and that sounds incredibly arrogant). Thankfully I am almost through with my last class, but still fear who will be my assigned advisor and readers for my final thesis. I recently joined a conversation between two people also completing their thesis next semester. Both have received reactions from their proposals, and I have not. This is particularly troubling because I submitted my proposal almost a month before the deadline, and was told I would be the first in line (I did this on purpose to make sure I could speak with my assigned advisor ASAP to schedule meetings well in advance due to my own hectic schedule and dire need to plan far ahead). Yet, I know I was not the first in line, and I still have not heard. And I do not want to appear agitated in an email and phone call to the department....so I am just waiting and hoping. I am a nice, honest person. I know this is an online forum and I understand that I could be construed as an ass, psycho, etc. But this dynamic has affected my entire graduate experience. I knew that my background and past experience would not completely or immediately gel with people in academia. But I never anticipated the unadulterated, passive-aggressive hostility. The silver lining is that it makes me appreciate my educational accomplishments that much more.

I have been in graduate school for more than two years. A little over a year ago, two obstacles occurred simultaneously which almost derailed my all my plans and could have led to serious personal problems. First, the jobs I had for a while (UPS graveyard shift and line cook for a couple different restaurants) were not generating enough income - I keep a tight budget, but I was slowly moving into financial crisis with mounting loans, insurance, rent, etc. This is all the while I was looking for a job in my field, which are still scarce (obvious economic climate then and now). Second, I have some personal issues I have been battling for my whole life, some self-inflicted and others out of my control. Increased stress and anxiety were bringing back many of these issues which I've had under control for many years. These issues led me to speak with a professor (my advisor at the time) about possibly taking a leave of absence due to my situation. The dialog ended abruptly when she went on sabbatical, but also partly because I originally reached out to her only to let her know that I was thinking about putting things on hold (I never actually discussed any of my specific problems, but thought she should be informed). Also during this time, because my financial and personal crisis got me scared as hell, I met with a Navy recruiter to see what my options could be. The recruiter knew my situation, and we were honest with each other from the get go. I took the aptitude test and did very well. However, shortly after the test, and as I was taking any interviews that came my way, I got offered a job in my field. Pay wasn't great, but good enough and I had to take it. (still haven't quit one my jobs as a cook). Because I lost contact with the recruiter, he went to my school and spoke with a few people about me, including students and professors (I had signed a waiver giving the recruiter permission to get a copy of my student records so I could be enlisted as an officer). Now the whole department thinks I am a lying fool. Here's why: I am now doing OK and for some reason they think I was lying about my problems to get sympathy. Here's how I know: A student and professor approached me after class and passive aggressively accused me of exaggerating my situation. The conversation went something like: "Oh, so you are working where now?" "You gave me the impression you were so poor you had to go into the military or something, I was worried but I can see now that everything is fine" "You used to dress like a working class guy but now you are in class in a tie, I wasn't sure what was going on" And on, and on, and on - Seriously. One student even told me she looked up my father and, since she thought he was well off, called me out - "You act working class, but I don't see it" (My father had almost nothing to do with my life until I was 20 years old, but I wasn't going to say anything about that). I just walk away with awkward smile on my face. Now I am in my last class of graduate school, working on my thesis, every professor I come in contact with treats me like crap. I want to say something, to explain myself, but I don't know if it even matters. One professor spoke of my working on my master's thesis "Well, we need to get you out of here as soon as possible" I even had one professor ask me for a copy of a few of my sources because he wanted to "check my work and citations" - I mean accusations of plagiarism are huge, but since everything is passive aggressive, I can't confront any of these problems. I am shy guy, don't broadcast my life, but the one time I think it was appropriate to voice my problems, look what happens. What can I do? Just stick it out for the remaining months and get the heck out? Thanks for reading.