Back to Blogging, Back to School

Thanks, Charlie, for reminding me about my blog. I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted.

In May I applied to graduate school for secondary education in English. I got in! It's my alma mater, so it wasn't surprising. I'm about a month and a half into the semester and while both classes (I'm only taking two) are undergraduate, they are still challenging. The English certification is comprised mostly of undergraduate survey classes. And the hard part isn't what they cover, but finding time to do classwork. Because I'm still working full-time.

Then there's my writing. What writing you say? Exactly. I haven't worked on my novel since August, but I worked darn hard to edit it then. Maybe come Nano month, I will work on it or another project. Time will tell. But the one thing I've really learned so far?

Going back to school isn't as glamorous as it seemed this summer. 

It's a lot of sacrifice. Like last weekend. I spent the majority of it working on two papers and getting all my reading for Monday and Tuesday done. But I guess I can rest easy the rest of the week, seeing as how I edited both papers and finished even Wednesday's reading. The one thing that makes me smile? The majority of students in my class, as of last night, had not even written one word of their six-page paper that is due tomorrow. And me? Seven pages and printed. That counts as writing, doesn't it?

Stresses out the Wazoo

How do you handle stress? The stress of a test, a due date, an unbelievably long bout of writer's block? I had planned on writing about another topic (which is pushed off until tomorrow), but a lingering headache stole the spotlight. The truth is that I've been horribly stressed ever since I decided to take the GREs. I've lost sleep (and resorted to sleeping pills). I've had headaches almost everyday. My stomach was trying to kill me this past weekend.

Aside from not studying, which sounds appealing to me, what else can I do? Take more breaks? But then I won't remember all those words I want to remember. Maybe I should do some yoga? I haven't exercized lately, and it might help. One can only hope. In one of the study guides I was reading last night, I read that if I make the GREs more of a challenge, more of a game, I might do better. Do you think I can change my mindset in time (by October 17th aka Doomsday)? Maybe the more I joke about it, the easier my heart will feel. Because lately, any time I think of the test, my chest tightens. Why am I so worried? It's not life and death. It's not THE most important part of my applications either. And it's not like I can't take it again (and shell out $150 to retake, ugh). I guess I'm being a little irrational, but then again, aren't some fears just that?