Oh, school!

Am I nuts to do all this?

And I’m not talking about the whole “sell everything and move to Australia” bit.

School.

Oh, school!

Classes haven’t officially started. This week, it’s all orientation-stuff. I feel a little squeaky since I haven’t been a student in nearly eight years. Will I remember how to write a research paper? Better yet, how to conduct original research?

It took me until graduate school (my master’s degree program) until I really got my act together. My marks as an undergraduate were pretty good, but I remember being really stupid about a lot of things. Like, I would wait until the night before to write a ten-page paper. I guess what I gained from that experience is that I could pull anything together last minute if I really needed to. However, I know that this is not the way to produce the best work possible.

During my master’s program, I really wised up and scheduled time to study. It worked out pretty well. As a matter of fact, I’m quite certain that my last “all-nighter” was finishing up my undergraduate degree final research paper for Women’s Studies.

Anyway…

It’s not just about returning to school after an eight-year absence. Sometimes I question my academic chops. I guess I figure since a doctoral degree is the “last” degree one can obtain, it must be tough. I need to have better confidence in my ability to be a student. I can do this! I can do this! I can do this!