Grad Student

Good evening, all!

I know I’m missing out on some Saturday night activities out there (which definitely bums me out), but it was time for me to come home after my activities today: a nine hour class, driving around a bit, and now I’m home to get some more work done before tomorrow morning. The fun never ends. :-P

Which started me thinking about my classmates and how they’re all having long days. For example, I just dropped off a couple classmates at the airport so they could fly back to their respective homes. Yes, you read that correctly, I did say airport. Isn’t that insane!? These classmates of mine fly in for each and every single class (I know ASU students that won’t roll out of bed for a class that’s 30 seconds away!). In my mind that makes my classmates superheroes.

They’re committing a large amount of time and energy towards something they’re passionate about. It won’t make them famous… won’t make them tons of money (“wait, hold up, a life of ministry doesn’t lead to a ton of money?” the crowds gasp)… but they’re pushing themselves beyond the point of exhaustion because they know it’s something profoundly worthwhile.

These superheroes, they’re working hard because they yearn to get better at caring for the people God has placed in their lives. And it’s their drive/discipline that inspires me to work hard myself. Their love for Jesus encourages me to be intentional with my own priorities.

So it’s in their honor I share a few graduate student jokes I stumbled across recently (and by the way I can honestly say the below items are true for my own life, haha):

You know you’re a grad student when…

* you can identify universities by their internet domains.
* you are constantly looking for a thesis in novels.
* you have difficulty reading anything that doesn't have footnotes.
* you understand jokes about Foucault.
* you consider caffeine to be a major food group.
* you've ever brought books with you on vacation and actually studied.
* Saturday nights spent studying no longer seem weird. (hahaha! As evidenced by what I’ll be doing when I finish posting)
* the professor doesn't show up to class and you discuss the readings anyway.
* you appreciate the fact that you get to choose which twenty hours out of the day you have to work.
* you find taking notes in a park relaxing.
* you find yourself citing sources in conversation.
* you've ever sent a personal letter with footnotes.
* you are startled to meet people who neither need nor want to read.
* you have ever brought a scholarly article to a bar.
* you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop.
* everything reminds you of something in your discipline.
* you have ever discussed academic matters at a sporting event.
* there is a microfilm reader in the library that you consider "yours."
* you actually have a preference between microfilm and microfiche.
* you can tell the time of day by looking at the traffic flow at the library.
* you consider all papers to be works in progress.
* professors don't really care when you turn in work anymore.
* you have given up trying to keep your books organized and are now just trying to keep them all in the same general area.
* you have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation.
* you find yourself explaining to children that you are in "20th grade".
* you look forward to taking some time off to do laundry.
* you have more photocopy cards than credit cards.
* you wonder if APA style allows you to cite talking to yourself as "personal communication".
* you have a favourite flavour of instant noodle.