Back to School

It’s hard to believe that I’m three days into graduate school and I’ve already had to break out clothing worthy of Great Britain! Blacksburg has been under a torrential downpour for the last few days, and for some reason I kept thinking that it would ease up throughout the day.

This morning as I stepped off the bus to head to class my umbrella actually blew inside out; my class was so early that the bookstore wasn’t even open yet, so I had to join my fellow drenched classmates in a drafty, damp room. (I later was able to secure a new umbrella, thankfully!). So far, everything is going well. I’m really relieved to be back in school. It was nice to be able to work over the summer and I was certainly grateful for a chance to travel home to visit my family and see friends, but I was certainly meant for school. I enjoy writing papers, studying, and reading. It’s no surprise that I plan to be a professional student then, is it?

My apartment is especially quiet since I don’t have internet or cable yet, and I don’t have much furniture either. The way my schedule is working out, I spend almost every day of the week on campus, so I usually just come home to eat, study, and head out again! My back is killing me from carrying around such a heavy load again, from I’m excited to be back in the swing of things!

And since I’m back in school, although I loved Randolph-Macon dearly, there are some advantages to attending a big school. First of all, I get to be a teaching assistant, and I’m TA’ing a class I’m interested in: World Politics. What a great dry run to make sure I want to be an international relations professor. Another big university plus: I have free rein over my research and thesis hours, giving me ample opportunity to start developing my master’s thesis. The library is huge, and VT has access to so many journals and books that RMWC just lacked. And finally, the gym! It’s amazing! There are actually two gyms, both with pools. When I first started going I figured it was the place I’d be most likely to bump into another Miss Virginia girl but I still thought the chances would be pretty small at such a large school, so imagine my surprise when I bumped into Sonya Milstead 45 minutes into my workout! And one more thing I’m coming to love about Blacksburg: the buses. I’m saving so much money on gas. I love that the VT students have prepaid bus use!