A Welcome Winter Break

Ah, at last! My last (and only) final exam is done for the semester. All my papers are in. My proposal is written. And the Christmas shopping is complete. I think it's time to relax. And what, you may ask, does a PhD student do to relax? You may think that it involves catching up on reading those journals that have piled up over the past few months tagged with "interesting articles that I'll get to later." Or maybe it has something to do with reading that fascinating text on research methodology. Oh wait, I've got it! Nothing says relaxing like sifting through PubMed to update a literature review for your dissertation project.

My research assistant evaluates my proposed reading list.

No, no, no. Silly reader. I am actually going to be nestled somewhere in the (hopefully snowy) northeast, away from wi-fi connectivity (that means no online journal databases). The only articles I'll be reading are from US Weekly (yes, it's true...). And the only book-like materials that are making the trip with me are from NPR's list of top fiction books of the year (sorry Polit & Beck and Cooper, et al.). It will probably be strange to be disconnected from something I've been living and breathing for the last year and a half. But, all I have to do is remind myself that although for ten days I'll be without those school-y things that happily haunt me here at home, they'll be waiting for me when I get back...still in their dusty piles marked "things to do" and muttering so only I can hear: "Oh, how we've missed you...."

Ringing in the New Semester

Ah, the start of a new semester. Oh, wait, what is that feeling? Excitement? Dread? Hopeful anticipation? Nausea? Maybe all of the above. The first year, we were blank slates. We didn’t know what to expect. We faced our potential challenges with the bright, moist eyes of newbies, optimists, and instruments of change! Now after enduring a year of proposal writing, grant submission, nursing theory, and…*gulp*.… statistics, we approach the new year with hesitation, doubt, maybe fear, and, at least in my case, indigestion. One must ask oneself: Why am I causing myself so much discomfort??

Well, it’s not all that bad, really. There are the moments of peace and happiness. The joy of an accepted manuscript submission, the excitement of successfully presenting a poster, the relief of not passing out in front of an audience of faculty members during a presentation. Yes, small successes can sometimes wipe away that unpleasant sensation of knowing that, despite all of the challenges you’ve surmounted, there are more that await. I’m crossing my fingers that the scales tip more towards achievements rather than obstacles this year.