Virtual Coffee Date – May 2017

Hiiiii! You guys, I’m almost done with the grad school semester. YASSSSSSS! I’m one essay away from sweet freedom (well, until summer classes start.)

This weekend I actually relaxed. Such a novel concept to me! Friday I hardcore chilled out and watched 4 hours of Say Yes To the Dress while eating Indian food and Girl Scout cookies. It was dreamy.

Saturday I ventured to New Brunswick, New Jersey to see RENT! I was a huuuuuge Rent head growing up. It was surreal to see the show again, almost identical to the Broadway production. I was a weepy mess for much of it. Once I was back home, Jeremy came into the city and we went to a concert with friends. Sunday was a lot more low-key — brunch, apartment hunting (the quest continues!) and not much else. It was perfect 🙂

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I’ve been getting questions about what’s going down in my life — what did I decide to do on the grad school front? What am I doing this summer? So, let’s catch up on everything that’s gone down.

If we were having coffee today… we’d talk about grad school.

I’ve gotten A LOT of questions on the grad school front since blogging openly and honestly about my less than stellar grad school experience so far. So, what did I decide to do?

After much (much, much, much) thought, I’ve decided to suck it up and stick it out. I constantly change my mind and second guess this decision. When all is said and done, I think it’s the right choice.

I know I’m extremely fortunate that I’m not going into debt and taking out loans to pay for this program. If that were the case, maybe my decision would be different.

I’m a year into this program, for better or for worse. I survived my first math class in 8+ years and survived being a 26-year-old intern. The math part scared the shit out of me.

When I started this program in September, my goal was to finish it as fast as possible. Circumstances and opportunities have changed since then. Because of this, I give myself permission to take the scenic route. I’d rather take less classes and take on more freelance opportunities that excite me.

I also give myself permission to bitch about it. Yeah, you heard me. Grad school isn’t easy. And it’s not fun. I don’t know why I thought it would be (Uh, ‘cuz I’m delusional and spent my undergrad years rolling around on the floor as a theater major?) 

This masters degree might not teach me everything I want to learn. And who knows, it might not propel my career forward the way I wanted it to.

But at the end of the day, I really wanted to go to grad school. In a way that’s almost impossible to explain unless you know me and how competitive I am with myself.

I want to get my masters degree for the same reason I wanted to run a marathon. Just so I can say I did it and don’t have to torture myself with what-if’s. So I’m doing this.

And that segues to my summer plans…

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If we were having coffee today… I’d tell you about what I’m doing this summer.

I decided not to stay at my internship for the summer. As much as I loved the company and the people I worked with, it didn’t seem like the best decision for me long term.

I’m signed up to take one class for grad school starting in July (it’s an online class, hallelujah!) There’s a small chance I’ll take another in-person class too.

Besides school, I’m starting a new freelance project that I’m SO excited about. I’ll be working with a health coach I admire doing marketing and other business stuff. More details to come when it’s a tad more official. My goal post-grad school is to freelance full-time in social media and as a Virtual Assistant. This opportunity is the perfect first step.

With internship being over, my schedule is a bit more free and I want to start teaching more yoga classes. If you know an NYC studio in need of an athletic yoga yoga teacher, lemme know 🙂

And I’ll still be blogging, of course, and organizing a ton of events with Holistic Happening.

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If we were having coffee today… we’d talk about RELAXING.

This semester took a lot out of me. I didn’t take the best care of myself and I didn’t prioritize sleep.

The next two weeks are about RELAXING and reclaiming a bit of my life that I lost this semester. And I could not be more excited. It’s weird to not feel like there’s something I should be doing for the first time in ages (Okay, I could be working on my essay due Wednesday, but it’s almost done!) 

Doing less is HARD for me. But it’s something I need right now. I’m looking forward to recharging, celebrating my birthday next week and a quick trip to Chicago before diving back into the grind.

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Your turn: If we were having coffee today what would you tell me about?