OK. Truth be told... I could barely handle that class. Not because of the work, or the topics, or the professor... but it was group work. Ugh... I have always dreaded group work... I'm always the one pulling the weight, leading the pack, picking up the pieces... I thought it would be different in graduate school, perhaps because we all WANT to be there. Turns out not all students want to be there and will work as hard as I will. It's okay. I survived. And from it, I learned a lot. I learned a lot about me: I rarely accept less than the best from myself so I expected that of others... unfair to both parties. I'm human, I'm a mom of a wildly amazing and brilliant and attention needing 3 year old. I'm a wife of a very busy and supportive husband who also would like a minute of my attention. I work full time and want to be the best at my job too... so... It's okay if my best is sometimes just short of perfection. I am not sure how I maintained my sanity through this first class but I know I owe so much to my husband for supporting me through this first term. Finding the hours to dedicate to school (because believe me, it's not just a few hours a week, it was more like a few hours a day) was difficult and challenging for both of us.

I also learned that graduate school is like a puzzle. Each lesson is a piece of your puzzle. At first, you might not think that it belongs anywhere... but after looking at it from different angles, consulting with professors and peers, turning it around and and discovering new pieces, you'll find where it fits into your big picture. The tricky part is, that sometimes with each new piece your big picture might start to change slightly... that's okay too. I'm learning so much in just a short period of time, I couldn't be happier.