Gettin' There

That phrase is Shewara and I's mantra for when we are getting work done. How is work going? We're getting there. Slowly but surely. GRE is next week (I'm getting a little better at the practice tests), and between now and then I have to navigate three different conferences: Islam and Visual Culture (Madison), Visual Studies (Evanston), and Afro-Mexico (Chicago). On top of that, I still have all my reading (preliminary calculations reveal that by semester's end I will have read around the neighborhood of 5000 pages this semester. And no, that is not an exaggeration), as well as three papers to write.

But I am getting it all done. I used to be far worse at the time management thing, but I think I am finally getting into a good grad school rhythm, learning what to do and when to do it, and finally giving myself the personal motivation to get work done so I can have some semblance of free time on the weekends to see Shewara, or just relax for a bit while football plays on the 'tube. I think this new persepective (and by new a mean a week old) comes from a good conversation I had with Shewara last week as I was nearing my first ever real mental meltdown. I had had a bad four weeks (stolen camera, ear infection, etc.), and was at a low-point academia-wise as I felt totally unconfident in my place here, and unsure of what work I should actually be doing. I ran the idea of just applying to Chicago jobs and quitting altogehter. Shewara, awesome as she is, reminded me of my childhood professor dream, and that I should be here - and I deserve it. That same day, my history professor wrote a review of one of my papers, praising both my writing and my analytical insights, and my advisor gave me some really helpful words in a one-on-one meeting that made me feel much better.

Basically I got through it, thanks to my awesome support system. So small crisis averted. Still lots of work to do, but I'm getting there.