Grad School Work

One of my best friends is getting published! Real life, first name on an academic study kind of published. PhD work kind of published. It's awesome, and I'm proud of her.  

I, on the less impressive end of the spectrum, got my paper on our school's Latin America Center blog. Although I don't talk about it a lot here, I'm currently in graduate school studying International Development. I'm learning a ton and excited about it, which is not what I anticipated when I applied. When I applied, it was a strategic move knowing that I couldn't advance far within the Development field without a Master's degree. After a year, I've created some good relationships with professors and had some awesome classes. One of my classes last year was on Illicit Markets in the Americas, and I'm happy that our final paper on prisons systems was put up as a blog for the Latin America Center this year. It was a five-part post, and mine was the final section - 

Winter quarter ended today, and I have a week before I leave for India. I'm in a class on Tibet and the Power of Nonviolence, which includes a month living and interning in Dharamsala, the home of the Tibetan government in exile. So I'm flying off to India, then heading to Thailand for a week to meet up with my sister for Christmas. I'm slowly filling in the world, looking for a place I'd like to call home.  

It has been a fascinating quarter, and I feel like I've hit my stride. I've figured out how much effort to put in and how much I can binge-watch in the background while I'm either reading thousands of pages or writing a few. I got to be in a class with my favorite professor, which is always something to look forward to. I learned to write briefs and analyze an organization. I wrote a full-scale project proposal on a gender-based violence intervention and learned the basics of stats. Through an application process that I am still in the thick of, I learned to write a good cover letter and do a good interview. I have seven months to go, then I'll walk away with a Masters Degree, a mound of debt, and a good head on my shoulders. Hopefully that will be enough.