First Week Stress

Well I survived my first partial week of graduate school. Between the exhaustion and worries, I somehow survived. It was also very overwhelming, so much information, so many new thing, and so many new people.

Orientation
Tuesday was a long day of orientation. It was the first day that I saw everyone in my program (which includes a guy) and when I first learned the names of way too many faculty members. There are about 17 faculty members, this is over 5 times how many faculty we had at NMU. We were told how to live as a grad student and how to live globally and the such. We then went on a scavenger hunt around our main building and the building in which the clinic was located. I'm so glad my team had students who had attended western, or we would have been completely lost. We then had a very long session about what we needed to know and what was on our resource cd that we had received that summer. I personally think there was too much on the cd, and many of my classmates agree. Good thing it is my job to prepare the cd for the incoming students next year...I'll mention why at a later time. We then met with our advisors for lunch. It was fun, and I have a great advisor with a cool last name of Glista. We were then done and I was so glad to get out of there and I was so exhausted afterwards. TOO MUCH INFORMATION!!!!

First Day of Class
Well I arrived extra early to the building to find parking (I'll always have parking) and to finish reading for my first class. Well our first class had to move rooms, but luckily that new room is where we will be the rest of the semester. That class will be interesting. The next two classes go together and are rather interesting as well. We played BAFA BAFA in the one class today. Sadly my Wednesday classes go until 5:40....which is exhausting. The best part of the day was the free Papa Johns pizza at lunch time!!!

Clinic
Well Thursday and Friday I spent an hour each at the clinic building being educated. It was one looooong hour. I think it was slightly pointless, but I did get my clinic schedule. One client, working in the Aphasia clinic, and my diagnostic team. I will be in the clinic from 10 am until 7pm every Tuesday and Thursday. Those will be very long days. But it will be worth it. I also get to do some of my GA hours in the clinic as my professor I'm the assisstant for, is the head of the Aphasia Clinic.

Ice Cream Social
After clinic orientation on Friday, we had an ice cream social with the professors and second years. It was actually a lot of fun. The second years gave us tips, we met out 'buddies' and we talked with the professors. My buddy is D, who went to NMU and graduated the year before me. It is interesting to have a northern student as my buddy, and I feel lucky as we had similar experiences in our undergrad.

Graduate Assistantship
I am working as an assistant to Professor G. I get to do some copies, some grading, some help, some research, some data inputting, and some cd making. Its going to keep me busy. 10 hours a week.


Sorry this post is so long. I've just been so busy and so stressed that I haven't wrote. I have more to write about this weekend, but I will save that for a later post.

Exploring Excitement

So Sunday night I officially moved into my new home, which is a basement. It is gorgeous! I have a room with a walk-in closet, a kitchenette, and a small living room. It is so nice. I'm still working on unpacking. Here is my first confession for this post: I am still not unpacked, and in no hurry to get done anytime soon. 

Well Monday afternoon, I helped my friend H move into her new dorm. Well that was exhausting and extremely hot work, so we came to Portage and went to Coldstone Creamery. After that we went to the amazing store called World Market and after that to the mall. Confession number two: The best thing about the mall is the escalators. I love riding the escalators. It was a blast and I got a new dress.

Tuesday we explored campus. We explored our building and then went to the health center for me to get my TB test started in order to work on campus. After exploring we went grocery shopping, to sonic and back to my place to relax and watch Burlesque. I then spent the evening after H went home unpacking and then just relaxing with a glass or two of wine.

Today after unpacking all morning, I went to meet H on-campus to do some work stuff and then go to our graduate assisstantship training. It was a long boring training about safety and other such stuff. I was bored, and I already don't like their safety alert system. Compared to NMU's system, it is sub par. I am now relaxing before I take on more unpacking, making cookie dough to bake cookies tomorrow, and potentially going to Panera for dinner.

Final confession: I am so excited for tomorrow, yet nervous as well. I am meeting classmates and having a dinner and bar hop. I'm excited to meet them, yet nervous to go out drinking with people I've never met. Luckily they have offered me a place to stay the night afterwards, so no driving back to Portage for me :)

Visiting the Land of My Undergrad

So all week I have been counting down to my trip to the great north to visit Marquette. I was going to help my brother move in for his freshman year and to see all of my friends who were in the area. It was all planned, see as many under 21 friends when I got there, see most of my legal friends at the bars that night, and see everyone else the next day. Well lets say this plan worked for only part of it.

My brother and I hit the road at 6am on Thursday. We made it to Marquette by noonish and got him unloaded by 1pm. Well several awesome friends/sisters, A and M, stopped by and I was so excited. Two of my IV friends, M and P, also helped my brother to carry his stuff in so I got to see some unexpected friends. Well my brother sent me away and I went and visited my friend A. After several hours of hanging out and chatting, A, my brother, and I went to Applebees for dinner as I was starving.

After dinner we went to Walmart to do some shopping before A dropped me off at my friend C's (different C than in later posts) house for the evening. Well we both started to feel a little sick after dinner and were thinking it was dinner and maybe was just food poisoning, except for the fact that my brother felt fine. Well I just blew if off and ignored it to the best of my ability, but it kept getting worse.

Well to make the disgusting story short I for some reason went out to the bar with my friends. Felt so nauseous that I even drank some ginger ale, I haven't had pop in months, and that didn't help. Went outside for fresh air, threw up in the ash bucket outside, went in feeling better, went home and was sick all night. Note to the reader: I have not thrown up in over 5 years. It was a miserable night.

The next morning I had my mom pick me up and take me to the hotel where I slept the day away nibbling at a little food and just trying to feel better. I never did feel better until today, Saturday, and that was after hours of sleeping in the car on the way home, drinking lots of water, and eating bits of food along the way.

But I am finally feeling mostly human and counting down until I officially am moved into my place in Portage. Only about 24 hours away until I am officially there.

Counting Down Drama

1 more day of work and life in Mt. Pleasant.

5 more days until I officially move into my new place in Portage.

8 more days until I train for my graduate assisstantship.

14 more days until school starts!!!

Only a handful of days left until my life changes yet again.  Kind of nerve-racking to think, I'm moving again. I'm starting at a new university. I don't know anyone in my program. I don't know my way around town very well yet. I'm not even close to being packed to leave in a few more days. I have to be packed by tomorrow night as I will be visiting my friends up in Marquette for one last time.

As the number of days gets smaller and smaller, my stress gets bigger and bigger. I don't have everything, I don't have everything done, not knowing what else needs to be done....UGH!

I just keep reminding my self....
1) I'm living with family friends
2) I have a good friend who may not be in my program but is in the area
3) The girls in my program seem nice and I get to hangout and meet them next week
4) Home is 3 hours closer than when I was at my undergraduate
5) I'm here for 2 years and I'll be done and moving again....ok maybe that is kind of scary

Got to be positive...but I'm still nervous and trying to keep the family drama from occuring during my last few days with all of them. I don't think I've mentioned my brother is heading away for his first year of college at my alma matter. He is way more ready than I was as a freshman. I fought with my parents and had plenty of break downs leading up to that, now I'm just stressing and venting to all of you anonymous people.

First Post Terrors

I've always wanted to be a writer. Always wanted to start a blog. Always been afraid to do either. Well its time to work through those fears. So lets start with who in the world I am.

I am Lexi. No its not short for anything. Not Alexandra, not Alexis, or Alexandria. I am just starting grad school at WMU. I have one brother, but tons of sisters. I should mention my sisters are my best friends and sorority sisters.

So here is a confession as my new blog is about confessions. I am afraid of getting lost on my new campus. This is a normal fear at a new school. But what you don't realize is the university I went to for my undergrad would fit about 3 times into my new campus. Freaks me out. Luckily I'm only in one building as of right now.

Another confession. I'm so nervous that I won't be able to keep up with my classmates. The way I study is different and not always as efficient as other study habits. But they work for me to pass my classes and to do well usually. I'm also nervous that I won't like my graduate assisstantship. But other than these few nerves....I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! 

Hopefully if anyone reads this blog they aren't bored to death...lol.