Spring 2019: Nonstop Flow

This new semester will truly push my limits because of all the different responsibilities that I carry around campus. Each of my responsibilities carry various sub-commitments within them and I’ll need to make sure I balance my time effectively in order to overcome all the challenges ahead of me. As a first-generation college student, I’ve always been one to want to take on a stacked workload. I got something to prove not only to myself, but to future employers out there, but I’ll be sure to be honest with myself if I need a breather here and there Below are examples of different responsibilities that lie within parts of my graduate experience this semester:

Personal Life

Relationship, Family, Friends, Health, Self-Care

Academics

3 Classes, Lots of Group Projects

Graduate Supervisor for RPS

Supervising, Advising, Conduct, On-Call, Duty, Team Dynamics, Other Duties as Assigned

SPA Vice President

Hooding Ceremony Planning, Visitation Days

Step Up! IU Facilitator

2-Hour Presentations, 2x-3x Week, On Occassion

Practicum Student: Sorority & Fraternity Life

Leadership Presentations, Research

Co-Facillitating a Class: Foundations of Residential Leadership (U450)

Grading, Advising, Challenging - 8wk commitment

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It’s been all gas and no brakes as I start the new year. Coming back to IU after my time of recovery hit fast and I had to make sure that I was ready to get back in the flow of things. I saw myself getting 10 things done on a daily basis for example, but then having 11 more tasks to do once I’ve cleared my plate. The workload never ends, but I genuinely enjoyed this feeling of being productive with my time during the day. Even if things can pick up at any minute, I feel great about being to serve in through student affairs. I always feel that I have to be on my toes here in Indiana, and there’s rarely a moment where I can feel a sense of relaxation. The intensity of the environment hit hard towards the end of January as I was missing home again. When feelings of homesickness hit, I have to remind myself why I started this journey in the first place. This experience is going to be hard, and I accept that, I just need to continue overpowering the challenges that come my way.

Struggles continued to find their way to me as I navigated the month of February, and they were mostly in the form of academic challenges. There were moments where I underestimated the workload that was put out in front of me and that resulted in me working overtime just to complete routine papers. I found myself contemplating an extension to a paper (I locked it in and got it done in time), and I even requested an extension to an extension that was already set out for a class (that I did need). The feeling of imposter syndrome slowly made its way into my mind, but I didn’t allow it to take control of me since I knew I was still able to remain under control despite the pressure I put on myself. It’s no the end of the world if an assignment has a few points taken off, but I didn’t want to display inadequate work in a graduate setting. This moment served as a wake up call to me to take all work seriously and to get ahead whenever I can.

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The lows hit hard during the beginning of the semester, but it was only a matter of time till they were balanced out with extreme positives. I entered a period where celebrations were felt all over in my life. I received grants that would help me fully cover my travel to the NASPA Annual Conference, I secured a summer internship with the University of Texas at San Antonio, I got to re-ignite myself by reconnecting with myself and friends in the field in Los Angeles for NASPA, I got to go home again after my conference experience, and I felt solid in all the work that I did. Lots of celebrations were in the air, and lots of love as well. The love that Melissa, my family, and my friends share with me lifted me to higher place in my times of need. Whenever I feel any doubt or if I feel exhaustion from any of my tasks, the connections that I share always brings me healing and reminds me of the greatness that I have back home and afar.

I was extremely thankful to be in the position that I was, and I know that I deserved all the blessings that came my way. I accomplished what I intended to do in my first year of graduate school, and that was allowing myself to constantly absorb every experience that came my way and maximized the opportunities that presented themselves. I finished my Spring semester by celebrating the accomplishments of the graduating HESA Class of 2019. It was an honor to plan their entire graduation ceremony for them, and to guide them through the various steps that it took in order to coordinate this important milestone in their lives. It felt like I was being driven into a tight corner in the first stages of the semester, but it all worked out in the end as a nonstop flow of joy came from every direction that I ended up moving in. This was another good reminder of that yin-yang mindset that I found myself gravitating towards heavily. A mindset that stuck with me from here on out.