grad school + how i’ve been
Long time, no see! It has been a hot minute since I’ve been on here – my familiar but also distant corner on the internet. To be honest, over the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to carve out time to sit down and blog, but I haven’t been able to muster up the courage to write again. But today, it’s sunny and freezing in Seattle (my favorite kind of weather!), and I suddenly had the inspiration to write. I’m tucked away in a coffeeshop in between classes and it’s so pleasant.
Since my last post, I started grad school! I’m part of my school’s tax accounting program, so it’s a little more specific than your classic MBA program. It’s been odd transitioning and starting my fifth year of school with all of my friends starting their full-time jobs. Now that I’ve completed two months of grad school, I’ve had time to really think and reflect about how I’m feeling/doing.
I moved into my new apartment with my friend who’s also in the program with me – so far, it’s been a fantastic living situation. I’m grateful thus far in my life to have had great roommates; my roommate and I have been good about keeping each other in check, mental health-wise. I had so much fun decorating my room and making it my humble abode for the next year. Does anyone else love building furniture? Lol I had the time of my life constructing and putting together all my furniture pieces from Ikea 😂
We had orientation for our program shortly after I moved in and honestly after that, I was terrified. It sounded like everyone’s stress level would be at an all-time high 100% of the time; people’s mental health would plummet to rock-bottom; we would get no sleep. I was really bracing myself after that, and luckily, I was able to find a really solid study group quickly. I’ve been spending multiple hours every week with my study group and I have to say I’m so grateful I have them to get through the program with!! We’ve had good laughs, inside jokes, and upcoming Friendsgiving plans already ☺️
Otherwise, I’ve been balancing my time outside of classes studying on my own (CPA studying starts in 2020 – wish me luck!), relaxing, and most importantly, making sure I sleep enough! It’s been difficult being unable to grab drinks or see a movie with friends during the week because I’ve had to prep for classes I have the following day; basically, telling them no when you really want to has been hard for me. On the flipside, I’ve been managing my time even more efficiently because weekends are when I can hangout with my working friends. I feel that I do have more free time once I get all my schoolwork done. It’s been a high priority of mine to ensure that when I’m relaxing, I’m really relaxing.
I’m thrilled that I’ve managed to make time to read as well – it’s still 100% my favorite pastime (I even passed my goal for this year to read 30 books!). Giving myself time to do what I love is so important to me because I feel that that’s what gives me life!! This priority has also made me question everything I’m doing to work toward my career in tax – but more on that later.
Also – sleep! Sleep is still the most important thing for me and it makes me sad when my peers aren’t prioritizing it. Grad school has surprised me because I feel like I’ve never slept this much in my schooling years before. I typically go to bed between 10pm and 10:30pm on school nights, and wake up at 7am. That’s more than 8 hours of sleep! I’ve been well-rested, in a good mood, and motivated everyday and I swear sleep is the reason why.
Midterms came and went and they went pretty much how I expected. In the beginning of the year, they emphasized that grades shouldn’t matter at this point because most of us have full-time jobs lined up after graduation. I’ve been taking this to heart and overall just trying to learn as much as I can without putting the stress on myself to get the highest grade in the class, etc.
I’m sure someone other than myself in the program is questioning whether they’ll be in tax for the long haul, and honestly I’ve been thinking about this every week. Recent opportunities have presented themselves (like working in London? Maybe?), and I’ve just been wondering what it would be like to try new things. I’m reaching that prime age for a quarter-life crisis which is why I’m questioning everything now, haha. Like what about my dream job of working in the publishing industry? And literature? One of my classes this quarter is in tax research, which involves more writing than the other classes and it’s funny because I seem to be one of the only students thoroughly enjoying it. Since I’m still young, do I start with my dream, or do I end my career with it? One of my friends from undergrad recently got hired to work at The Wing in NYC – like how cool would that be?! There are so many possibilities and things I’m excited about, and I wonder if I latched onto a career in accounting and tax too… fast? I remember being a sophomore, a junior, and senior in college, and feeling so sure about the direction of my career while mostly everyone else around me was floundering. Ha, funny how things work out.
I think it’s times like these where it’s not only crucial to talk with close friends & family, but also mentors. I’m dedicated to making the time to discuss these questions in the coming months. I definitely still want to work on getting my CPA (I really don’t think it’ll be that bad of a process), but I also want to continue exploring my options.
How have you been doing?