When I was but a wee undergraduate, each new semester was an excitement. Any minute shift in my schedule would change my life. No more class on Friday? My life is complete. No Thursday night 9 to mid shift at the library? I can finally go out to a bar with my friends! Early classes and afternoons off? Nap! Gym! Homework!

I must have lost my youthful exuberance since January of 2007, because I harbor no such delusions about Ye Old Grad School. At the beginning of each semester, I close my eyes, pinch my nose, and jump.

And every semester is a different cold, black-watered pool, swimming with things that bite. This fall, I have to survive:

• LIS 403: Evaluation of Information Services
• CHL 423: 19th Century Children’s Literature
• 20 hours a week in Honors
• 9+ hours a week at the reference desk
• Organizing and making-liveable a new apartment
• The usual onslaught of household chores, finance-keeping, social obligations, and personal maintenance.

So I’m assuming this semester will be trying, because it will be. I’m assuming there will be a rhythm, but I won’t know what that rhythm is for a few weeks.

I’m not trying to force anything here.

However, I have a few hopes for this fall semester:

1) I will take pride in my academic writing. Because I’ve turned in far too many a paper without even a proper proofread…

2) I will continue to prioritize healthy eating, exercising, and sleeping. Why bother with grad school if you’re just going to be grumpy and sick?

3) I will write things down. Which is less intuitive than you’d think.

4) I will be experimental with my caffeine intake. My vending machine has vanished, I can’t afford $4+ on Starbucks everyday, and I’m trying to cut back on fake sugar products. So stay tuned to see how THAT all works out…

5) I will apply what I’ve learned in my LIS classes to my new Ref Desk gig. Which is, surprisingly, fun!

6) I will write things down in fancy, expensive notebooks. Exclusively.

Done and done.