“Heyyyy thereeee” (this has been my most recent form of greeting people–yes, including my students).
With that said, I’ll ask the question: remember when I used to post every week? Those were the days...

Grad school is no joke, kids. It sucks away your time, energy and sleep. Notice how I didn’t include “soul” there. Why? Because the last 3 months have been some of the best of my life. During the last 100ish days I have been in the most creative, collaborative and supportive environment I have ever experienced. I have made new friends both inside and outside my department and there has been lots and lots of laughing.
You know how, as a kid, you’d always hear adults say something along the lines of “find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”? I have been living that cliche. *Not to brag* but I love every part of this hellacious schedule. That does mean, however, that some of the other parts of my life have taken a backseat: my blog included. But I had a class get canceled this afternoon so I figured that instead of relaxing like a normal person I’d key y’all in on what’s been going on thus far. (Oh yeah, I say y’all now).

If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll notice that I’ve been working with a few brands as an ambassador, Yosi Samra and K-Swiss just to name a few. I have an incredible photographer who has been keeping my content flow very comfortable and I am finally learning how the hell to work Photoshop. And code. And shoot video. And teach.
Speaking of things I do on the computer… something I recently invested in are Felix Gray glasses. If you don’t read the news then let me be the first to tell you that blue light omitted from our computers and phones cause eye strain and keeps us up at night. That’s definitely not the scientific version of that assertion but it covers the gist of it. About two weeks ago a friend referred me to Felix Gray glasses after listening to me complain about how badly my eyes burn after I leave my web design class. These glasses filter that blue light and reduce glare, helping me stay focused for longer periods of time without having to rub my eyes or do that aggressive eye-squeeze.

It’ll come as no shock that coffee has been important, to say the least. But life in grad school is more than just sucking back caffeine. I have my morning coffee as soon as I wake up and, often, I try to relax while I drink it. It may be shallow and you can hate me for saying it but there’s something about drinking coffee out of “happy mugs” that makes me… happy. Every morning I pick from my collection of flower, designer, The Office and even llama-inspired mugs. When you work 12-14 hour days, it’s the little things that help you get through the day.
Lastly, I’ve learned that it’s really, really important to let yourself have fun. Man, I could write an entire article about this one. Another grad-friend who has a year under her belt told me not too long ago that “grad students need to have fun too!” and it really stuck with me. I have been scheduling plans with friends for every weekend, making time for little things for myself and never, ever working while having dinner.

It’s not glamorous in grad school but I am the happiest I have ever been.