I Am SO Ready!

Tonight in my class I was dreaming of all the things I'm excited to have time to do again after I graduate from grad school.  The end is nigh.  Two-hundred and fifteen days to be exact.  Not that I'm counting or anything.  Out of forty credits to complete, I have completed twenty-nine and after this semester, I will only have three left.  That's one class- my capstone. And then that's it.  The whole shebang. 

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm really looking forward to graduation.  I am so glad I have the privilege of being in graduate school- of having the intellectual capacity to be there, the means to pay for it (one way or another), and the support I need to get through it.  One of my grandmothers had a tenth-grade education.  It just blows my mind when I think about the opportunities that I've had in my life. I know I'm really lucky.

That said, I'm a bit burnt out after almost eighteen years of school. Twelve years + 4 years of college + 2 years of grad school = I'm pretty sure I've had enough now.

So, here are the things I'm most looking forward to having time for again:

- Happy hours more than once every six weeks.

- Not having to rush home in between work & class to walk Eliza.

- Having time to work on my French again. I was a French major in undergrad and even wrote my thesis in French, but have lost an embarrassing amount of language skills since then.

- Being able to attend workout classes.

- Reading. Oh, I cannot wait to have time to read something other than an article for school.

- Needlepoint.  I dabbled in needlepoint my senior year and really enjoyed it, but just do not have the time (or the funds) for it right now. I'm looking forward to doing it again.

- Learning how to sew. This has long been on my "want to do" list, so I'm excited to really learn and have time to hopefully teach myself. 

- Amping up my blog content with time to tackle DIY projects and recipes.  And having time to do more research and learn more about how to be a better blogger & writer.

- Focusing on my social life. 

- A little more freedom to travel when I want or need to.

- Time to focus just on my career without a stipulation of "after I graduate, I'll be able to do XYZ" hanging over my head.

What really amazes me are the people who are managing school + work + a family!  If you are out there reading, I do not know how you do it.  Major snaps to you, friend.

Cheers to great educations, great futures, working hard and playing hard after it's all done!