How much time do we have?

Claudia

The moment you tell people you are a second year MPH student, most will ask you, “so what are you going to do after you graduate?”

Truth is – I am more confused about the answer to that question than I was last year. I don’t have a definite or exact answer, but what I do know is that I strive to stay true to the values and principles that got me into the field of public health in the first place. I don’t want to take a job just for the sake of it or for a paycheck.

Although the reality is that being unemployed is not the most desirable option, it is important for me to be a part of something bigger. I want to make sure that whatever path I take, it is one that is guided by my passions and not external expectations. Being in school, sometimes we can lose touch with the very things that got us here in the first place. This semester was a time of serious reflection for me.

Fall semester of your second year is when things start getting real. You are extremely energized from your summer internship, you are thrilled to not have any more required courses on your schedule and there is definitely less anxiety around the “unknown.” You know what to expect, except that now the realization is that there is less time. Before you know, it is the last full week of classes and people you met last school year are finishing up their programs and graduating, while you prepare for the holiday break. And then…your last semester is here.

This is where my mind goes wild. I start thinking about all the things I said I was going to do, the places I was going to go, and the people I was going to see. Then I realize I only have a few months left. And just as fast as this semester passed, the next one will.

One major lesson I have learned this semester is to do the things that make me happy and the things that help me feel connected to others. For me that means staying involved in student organizations and attending many campus events, going on road trips with friends, skyping with my younger sister as much as possible (even during class sometimes), bikram yoga, providing mentorship and guidance to undergraduate students, contributing to research projects, and volunteering within the local community.

As graduate students we get extremely busy, this is true. But, ironically, I have realized that the most efficient way to lower my stress has been to involve myself more. I may not know what I am going to do right after graduation, but I do know what I am going to try to do with my time next semester!

We have time, but then again, we really don’t. So do what you love.

Source: http://swanss.tumblr.com/

My First Slice of Grad School Pie!

Claudia

Hey! I’m Claudia, a first year student in Health Behavior Health Education (HBHE). After a 6 year school hiatus, I come all the way from California to Michigan to pursue my Master Degree in Public Health. I will be blogging about my experience at the School of Public Health (SPH) and hope that my perspective gives you a genuine glimpse of what life at SPH is like.

It’s the start of the 4th week of classes and things are finally starting to fall into place. The first three weeks have been all about figuring out what works. What classes to take? Should I take notes on a laptop, ipad, or just a good old-fashioned paper notebook? It’s also been about figuring out the best way to manage my time and fit in classes, work, socializing with new friends, and all the reading and assignments that I am are required to do. Plus, the University of Michigan has plenty of student activities that you can start participating in right away!

My schedule is starting to fill up as I take advantage of these opportunities. There are so many public health-related organizations and events open to students  -that  it’s hard to choose!

This weekend was the 2011 Ann Arbor AIDS Walk and the School of Public Health was the top fundraising team (for the second year in a row), raising over $4,000. All the money raised goes exclusively to HARC (HIV/AIDS Resource Center) – which is the ONLY AIDS service organization serving many of the surrounding Michigan counties. I was thrilled to be a part of the SPH team and see the enthusiasm that my peers showed throughout the event.

Just for Fun – A Piece of Grad School Pie!

I decided to make a pie chart using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) of how I spend my time during a given week based on the first 3 weeks of school.

Results:

26.05% Sleeping

25.15%  Reading

7.19%     Thinking about  doing homework or readings

10.18%  Class (17 units)

5.99%    Working

7.49%    Dealing with moving issues – buying furniture & kitchen supplies; finding a shower curtain to match the bright pink

                  tiles in the bathroom.

8.38%    Freaking out! The moments while reading a research article that make you say – “Ah! I’m really in grad school!”

2.99%    Learning SPSS – Spending time in lab is inevitable!

6.59%    Other – Most likely made up of being on facebook, catching up with friends and family, eating, and showering when

                  possible.

* I know the percentages add up to 100.01 and I don’t know why. I guess I still have more SPSS learning to do!

Now that you’ve seen mine, what does your grad school pie look like?

How to divvy up life? (I am asking not telling.)

Katie Sloter

Kurt Vonnegut said something to the effect of “Please notice when you are happy, so you can say to yourself ‘if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”

I am happy. However, I am feeling a sense of urgency, somewhat. I cannot believe it is the second semester of this year. There is so much I want to get in this life. A year in Uganda perhaps, two in El Salvador? Medical school, maybe five or six years working for Doctors Without Borders? Don’t forget that year in Italy to learn to cook, and maybe a family and/or motorcycling from Alaska to Chile?

I know this can be a stressful time for you—second years thinking about the immediate future. First years figuring out living arrangements for next year, juggling jobs and school and trying to find a (funded!) internship. The things we are doing now are in preparation for the coming years. The people we invest in, the jobs we choose, the internships we pick—it all matters a bit more now.

Time has somehow changed from a vague concept of something untouchable and mysterious, to something becoming more formed and planned. Which is good. Sobering, but good. In the best case scenario, I get 79.9 years, the average life span for a woman in the United States. What is worthy of this time? Investing in mind, spirit, or the creative things?

As I look around at you, my lovely classmates, I am amazed at how you will use your time. How much potential, and opportunity, sits in this room? Maybe 40 desks, three or four people per desk. How many teachers, coaches, sisters, pastors, parents, friends gave encouragement? “You will be great, I just know. You can be and do whatever you want to, I just know. You, my dear, will change the world. You must know this one for yourself, I think.”

So all the connections formed, all the pathways, all the investment of time and hope, and the hopes of people you might not even intend to affect are waiting to be used. Even as time is becoming more planned, we still have the freedom of how to apply what we are learning here. There is still freedom—and freedom makes me happy, and possibility, and a continued totipotency throughout life.  If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.

In the best-case scenario, I get 57 more years. How do we use the freedom well, so at the end we have lived with honor? How do we divvy the time and investment, of all the worthy things, of every person that waits, how do we decide which ones are most important and where to direct attentions?