I have really been acclimating well to my surroundings here in Cambridge. It seems like the longer I am here, the more confident I become. I have been making it my mission to figure out all of the little nuances within English culture, particularly in language. What I have been spending much of this time doing is figuring out the pieces of slang. Believe it or not, this makes it easier to function both in public places and at work, etc.
I also had another great interview for my project. Again, I am amazed at how eager these high level staff members are to talk to me. They all have spoke very openly about the student discipline process here at Anglia Ruskin, that I am sure I will have so much to work with when I get down to writing up my report and presentation. At this point, I feel like I need to be careful with how much information I try to tackle within it, because my interviewees have been so open.
Also, I had a conversation with my brother today about what I termed as "little endings". He was telling me about it was his last day in his internship experience and I told him "yeah, it happens, it's all little endings now". That is, it seems like there are always little things when you come towards the end of your graduate program where you think "Oh, this is the last time I have to register for classes", etc.
When thinking about that, I realize I maybe have skipped a bit over some of those little endings. I have been balancing a lot this semester in my program and towards the end, I was just trying to get all my finals done before coming here to England. With graduation happening at Wright State tomorrow, now I find myself thinking about how my time as a Master's Degree student is coming to a close. To be honest, I rarely talk about this sort of thing, but I have put so much work towards this goal of getting this degree for the last 5 years.
My last year of undergraduate work, I just thought a lot about how I would much rather be in classes related to student affairs, but I needed to finish my degree. Then as an AmeriCorps member (while I had a fantastic time in this program, learned so much, and met some great people) I also did without a lot. That is, in case you aren't aware, AmeriCorps members make very little money (around $10,000 for the year). While I was personally and professionally very happy, I was struggling a lot financially. However, what kept me going was the goal of getting my Master's Degree.
Then after getting into and progressing through my graduate program, I just kept looking toward the end and achieving my goal. Now that I am at the threshold of it, I don't think that I really stopped to think about it. I always seem to keep myself busy professionally, so it's hard to sit back and admire my progress I guess...I started thinking about this today and thought "Maybe I will bask in this achievement for a bit...". Then I realized I was JUST researching and saving information on Ph.D. programs in student affairs today, so that when I want to begin going through the application process on that endeavor, I will have starting point.
I know this journal entry doesn't really fit the mold of my England trip, but I feel it is appropriate. That is, if you asked me two years ago if I ever thought I would be in England, interning and doing a project on student conduct, I would have laughed in your face. However, here I am and now that I am I just would like to say thank you to all the people who have helped me over the years. Also, thank you to the people in my life that have believed in me all this time. Even though I am not walking in graduation tomorrow, you can rest assured that I will be here, mulling over some piece of student affairs work in my head and missing all of you that are back stateside. Thanks for reading.
ML
Song of the Day: The Smiths - "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"
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