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I started my MBA three years ago with an ambiguous end goal. I certainly didn’t really picture myself here, at the end of the line. But, here we are, and after three solid years of papers, tests, all-weekend work sessions and major projects, I am done. There’s going to be a sadness now that it’s over, and some feelings of being in limbo. After a while, that will pass, and I will continue towards the future. I am in the middle of achieving some of my dreams, completed others, and still others are nebulous, unfolding out before me.
I could not have made this journey alone.
I missed milestones along the way in pursuit of this achievement. To my friends and family who were so patient and supportive, even in times that I could not return the favor, I am so grateful for the love and support you gave me. Had I been more of a fire-forged person, I may have been able to do it alone. But the truth is that I am not, so everything you have done, from asking me how it was going, to being excited that I was nearly done made all of the difference in the world to me. I carried each of you with me across the stage on Sunday.
Along the way, there were teachers and mentors who went above and beyond to help me not only in the classroom, but in my life. An education starts in a classroom, but without real life, it is achieved in a vacuum and is meaningless. I could not have made it without those mentors. I will continue to hold them dear and seek out new ones along the way, because a path is made much easier with a guide.
I wish I had a picture of the view from the stage when I got my diploma to show you, because there truly is nothing like it: to see a sea of faces and hear the applause of a few thousand people. It is an odd and wonderful thing to hear your full name across a loudspeaker and hear people clapping for you. I hope that in whatever you do, you get a chance to hear and see that: it is amazing.
It’s still hitting me, in inches, that this is a reality. I earned this: in laughter, tears, arguments, long days of both work and school, in shaky relief of delivered presentations, in naps across chairs in a library and meals out of vending machines. I earned it, I would not trade a single minute of it, and I wear it all as a badge of honor.
Julia Z, MBA
And of course, my sleep and general schedule gets SNAFU’d as I work on reading, writing papers, studying for a test, and finishing projects. This semester will be like the rest in that regard, but totally unlike the rest as it is my last one in my MBA tenure.
One of the weird things I have discovered, though, is that I’m growing more accustomed to working on less sleep. For example, last night I couldn’t fall asleep before 11:30 (I’m usually out as soon as my head hits the pillow at 10:40 or 11), and I was up constantly. When I was asleep, I was frenetically dreaming, which tends to rob me of any “rest” I can get in my sleep.
But, I was still up at 5:40 this morning for my morning workout with my trainer, and have felt only minor tugs of tiredness at the edges of my consciousness. Compare this to how I felt this weekend, getting a full block of 8 hours of sleep and feeling like a sloppy mess when I was awake.
I don’t know if this is the “new normal” for me, but this time around with lack of sleep, I’m not as spazzy about figuring out how I’m going to make it up in the long run.
NaBloPoMo’12: Friday 5 for November 23, 2012 – Black
Published November 23, 2012 Friday5 , NaBloPoMo 1 CommentI did not do any Black Friday shopping this year. It seemed a little tacky that some places opened at midnight to cram shoppers in, so I opted out with a therapy session in the morning, and lunch with the Stribz and Charlie in the afternoon at No. 1 Pho.
In Speckle news, she’s been around to the point where I didn’t even need a live trap to catch her, I was able to pick her up and bring her in. She got a good bill of health at the vet and is going to go for shots tomorrow. She is such a sweet, mellow thing.
I wish I could keep her; but with Roxie and Reese right now, there’s no way I can take a third cat. I am carefully vetting adoptive parents for her though, rather than just dropping her at the Humane Society.
As I type this, she’s zonked out on my lap from playing kitten games all day.
I’m looking forward to telling you a happy story about where Speckle will be living forever.
Onwards! To the Friday5!
- What’s your favorite black article of clothing?
I have a lot of black clothing, it’s pretty much the staple of my wardrobe. But right now, my favorite piece that I’m wearing all the time are by black platform boots that go with my dresses and most of my skirts. - What’s the best black food?
Of the foods that I can think of, blackberries are at the top of the list. - How did you pass the time during your most recent extended blackout (power outage)?
It was at work, when randomly, half the block went out. Before they released us, I sat by my office window and read a book on my iPad, then I went with the Knuckleheads to the atrium and had lunch with them. - When did you last play blackjack?
Ages and ages ago. - What are some songs in your iTunes (or other media player) whose titles contain the word black?
Strong Black Vine, Tori Amos
Black Star, Radiohead
Supermassive Black Hole, Muse
Black Mud, The Black Keys
Black Tongue, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Black Like Me, Spoon
Black Cadillacs, Modest Mouse
White Men in Black Suits, Everclear
Black, Pearl Jam
Spin the Black Circle, Pearl Jam
Source: f.riday5.com
I’m working on “filling in the blanks” for NaBloPoMo. I fell of the wagon hard, you guys.
I suppose I could offer up empty platitudes about thankfulness, in thinking that it’s Thanksgiving, and it is a fashionable thing to talk about the things that one is thankful for. Which is not to say that I am not thankful, in fact, quite the opposite is true: this year, I am extremely thankful.
At the beginning of the month, I put up this wallpaper on my desktop computer:
It says, “Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.”
It’s been a beautiful reminder for me, as a person who is constantly prone to thinking very black and white about things, that when I am unhappy about something, I think that the sun will never shine again. But that’s never the reality.
So for me, thankfulness this season is a message of hope, and comfort, knowing that I am so lucky, and so blessed in many ways now, and will continue to be in the future, too.
Rachel and I went silk painting. It was her first time.
I think we had some fun.
NaBloPoMo’12: Friday 5 for November 16, 2012 – I’m Trying to Preposition You
Published November 16, 2012 Friday5 , NaBloPoMo Leave a CommentBusy Friday. :/
Let’s Friday5 instead, shall we?
- What’s something that’s better on the rocks?
Dewar’s, or so I’m told. - Whose behavior has been beyond belief?
No one’s that I can think of… - In what way do you color outside the lines?
I definitely dance to the beat of my own drum most of the time. You can ask anyone I know. - When were you recently relieved to be in the clear?
I had a due date for a paper pushed back. That was pretty awesome. - What seems to have disappeared without a trace?
My motivation to finish this dang semester, that’s for sure.
Source: f.riday5.com
