Wednesday, November 9, 2011

why i am here

Days in grad school can be long. Classes start at 8:30am and run until 6pm, just to lead to coming home and starting homework. In an hour I have to go out again for some volunteer work. It can all start to wear on you. The assignments. The hustle. The go go go. 


I came home and tried to take a bath. I was sore and it was all I wanted. I realized simultaneously that the tub wouldn't stop up and that my hot water went out. Sigh. Fail. 


As I started poking around the kitchen trying to figure out what to have for dinner I remembered how I felt this morning. I was in a class that is normally hum drum, but we had a guest speaker who was incredibly engaging. As he discussed work in family planning and reproductive health, public-private partnerships, and arguments across every discipline to advocate for resources and political commitment, I was excited. Pumped. Jazzed. I thought, "I want to be like you when I grow up." 


In the face of the mundane assignments and statistics quizzes I had to remind myself to hold that feeling close. This is why I am here. 

3 comments:

  1. So true. Dr. Peterson's so inspiring and has such a wealth of knowledge - I hope he teaches more of our classes!

    "You have to think of the ethics and consequences of doing a study. You also have to consider the ethics of not doing the study, or using the drug." paraphrasing Dr. Peterson @ Journal Club (in relation to promoting injectable contraception for women with HIV/AIDS)

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  2. What are you studying in grad school? I was in an anthropology PhD program at Michigan until hubby moved us to Boston (sad). I miss school and getting excited about all things pertaining to what I was studying (structural violence).

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  3. I know Tay! Totally love him.

    Northshore-- Anthro PhD sounds awesome. I considered Michigan for grad school! Then I decided it was way too cold for me. I'm doing an MPH in Maternal and Child Health.

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