Butterflies

Literally, butterflies. They dive-bombed me all the way from the lecture I just gave to the grad student office. I’ve never had to actually duck to avoid being hit by a monarch, but apparently they’re on a suicide mission today.

Not so much figuratively - I thought I’d be insanely nervous for the 8 am guest lecture I gave to one of the women’s studies classes today, but the professor (a GTA) made me feel comfortable and the class size was a world of difference. I always assumed that my nervousness with the Psych class I’m TAing for was just because I’m a nervous person, never considering that it might be that I’m only nervous in front of 150 people. The forty-person class was wonderful - the students were genuinely engaged, something that’s hard to feel in a class as massive as the one I TA for. It’s made me excited for class next semester (which will be much smaller), and for the prospect of teaching my own sections next year.

I’d say that my favorite parts of grad school are the classes I take and interacting with the undergrads, but that’s pretty much all I do in grad school, and people who like everything about their job are just annoying.