Two weeks ago, I completed my undergrad STEM degree, summa cum laude. 🎉 I am appropriately proud, especially since I worked full-time and managed to graduate an entire semester earlier than I predicted in this post. Through a pandemic. Through a job change. Through the accumulation of 5 non-academia professional credentials.
“Omg what will you do next?”
Take a fucking nap. Take many naps, I hope, probably with my Manta mask.
No, seriously.
I am thankful. My mental health is better. I’m working hard to build a more sustainable–in every sense–life. I am tired. I am wiped out.
I’ve heard a lot of, “You should–” with well-intended but unsolicited input on what I should be doing right now. The only, and I do mean *only* thing I should be doing right now is resting.
Maybe clean up my back porch, gazebo, and yard so I can enjoy some time out there with something tasty in this.
Longer term, I am going to start a graduate program this fall. Ideally, I want to wait until November (they allow unusual start dates). This past week, I got news that I won another scholarship towards that, which is incredible. If I win another high-value scholarship that requires I enroll sooner in order to get the funding, I’ll start sooner.
I’m excited about it because it is a competency-based program that allows for self-pacing and acceleration. Basically, if you know a topic, you can take write its papers and/or take its exams immediately without busy work and mandatory discussion boards and bullshit. If you don’t, there’s material for you to learn it. Due to my experience, I can zip through a lot of the content quite quickly.
I have some content planned (drafts in progress), so look forward to some more here soon.