Senior year hasn’t even begun and I’m already exhausted. I’m excited, to be sure, but I’m starting to realize that I’ll have to make use of every minute available to me. Gone are the days of between-class naps and binge-watching entire television seasons. Even 20 minutes is useful, and I’m going to have to understand, somehow, that I don’t have a minute to waste. When I’m not in class or doing RA duties I will be frantically applying to fellowships, trying to study for the GRE, writing thesis, and looking in to different grad school programs. I’m excited to take on these many tasks, but after a year spent abroad at universities with very different courseloads I’m not used to this amount of work. Hopefully once classes start I’ll be able to get back into the swing of things.
At this point, I’m so focused on the day-to-day — getting signatures for assorted forms, unpacking my mess of a storage cube (WHY did sophomore Rose hold on to so many unnecessary things?), trying to figure out when I’ll have time for a FitScripps class or two — that I haven’t given thought to the Bigger Things awaiting my attention. The other day at dinner I looked up the Fulbright deadlines and realized they’re in less than a month. My work style is very reliant on last-minute pressure, but I am not letting myself procrastinate on any fellowship apps. I want to give myself time to go to the Writing Center, let my ideas develop, and write an application I feel good about. Easier said than done, but hopefully now that I’ve written it here I’ll feel more accountable to myself and to you all.
Besides the Fulbright I’ll be applying to several other fellowships; a great gap-year program in my hometown of Seattle, Washington; a couple of jobs in the Seattle area; and an unspecified number of grad school programs. I also need to figure out when I can take the GRE and give myself time to study for that. Hopefully this leaves me with a little time to enjoy my last year on- (and off-) campus, because there’s a great deal of Southern California that I have yet to explore.
Because I love lists, and because I’m loving the idea of the community of readers holding me accountable – I don’t want to let you all down! – here are my goals for the week:
- Finish two veeerrryyy long-standing essays and send them in. (Germany, where I spent my spring semester, has a very different semester structure than American students are used to – it begins in April and ends in July. Term papers aren’t usually due until mid-September, and I returned to the States before turning in the final papers for two of my classes. I need to get them in, and receive a grade from the professor, before September 23rd so that I can send my updated transcript to Fulbright. Great motivation, huh?)
- Write up and send in an abstract for a presentation I’ll be doing at the end of the month. This shouldn’t take long, but it’s just one more thing to worry about.
- Actually make headway on my Watson and Fulbright apps. Yikes.
For now, I’ll sign off and go breathe into a paper bag. Happy start to the school year, all!
Good luck, Rose! Just remember to make some time to do the things at Scripps you like, whether those are FitScripps classes, seeing interesting lecturers or Pub/Mudd parties/Tea parties. All of this fellowship/gradschool/job applying will last well into your years after college, but all of those things that make Claremont an awesome/fun place will be a thing of your past. Don’t spend so much time thinking about the future that you don’t enjoy the paradise you already inhabit!