April 2019
Spring break is fun. Returning from spring break is not. I learned this lesson the hard way.
As a teacher by trade, I still get the anticipation of freedom that is a week-long break during the spring semester. It is glorious. I get to leave the cares of my day-to-day job at work and head off into complete and total freedom. An added bonus is that A&M’s spring break met up with my school district’s spring break, so there was nothing to think about. It was great.
Little did I know what was waiting for me when I returned. I forgot that the reason I was having so little stress in my first semester back at school was because I had set a routine to get ahead of the next week’s assignments. Somehow, I overlooked that during my week of bliss.
My typical week of grad school starts on the Friday before. My professors post the next week’s assignments on Friday. I look them over and prioritize what needs to get done first and what can wait. I typically do my reading on the weekends where time is at a premium. When I get to my off periods at school I try and knock out a few pieces of my assignments per day until they are all done and turned in. By Thursday I am usually completely done with that week’s assignments and I get a day of rest before starting the cycle all over on Friday.
After spring break I was already behind. I also had forgotten some group projects that were on the horizon and people do not always keep the same work schedule I do. All of a sudden I found myself drowning in work, school, family, and every other appointment taking up my time. It was time to buckle down and get things done.
Through a lot of effort and grace from my family, I am not back on track with my graduate school routine. The moral to this story is that a break is nice, but keep in mind that you still have the same amount of graduate school work coming back, so if you are in a routine make sure you are staying in the routine over break. If not, know that the week back is more difficult than it should be. I guess I will have to wait in see if I learn from my mistakes this year.
--- R. Tyler Horner
R. Tyler Horner is a Masters student in the College of Education and Human Development
As a teacher by trade, I still get the anticipation of freedom that is a week-long break during the spring semester. It is glorious. I get to leave the cares of my day-to-day job at work and head off into complete and total freedom. An added bonus is that A&M’s spring break met up with my school district’s spring break, so there was nothing to think about. It was great.
Little did I know what was waiting for me when I returned. I forgot that the reason I was having so little stress in my first semester back at school was because I had set a routine to get ahead of the next week’s assignments. Somehow, I overlooked that during my week of bliss.
My typical week of grad school starts on the Friday before. My professors post the next week’s assignments on Friday. I look them over and prioritize what needs to get done first and what can wait. I typically do my reading on the weekends where time is at a premium. When I get to my off periods at school I try and knock out a few pieces of my assignments per day until they are all done and turned in. By Thursday I am usually completely done with that week’s assignments and I get a day of rest before starting the cycle all over on Friday.
After spring break I was already behind. I also had forgotten some group projects that were on the horizon and people do not always keep the same work schedule I do. All of a sudden I found myself drowning in work, school, family, and every other appointment taking up my time. It was time to buckle down and get things done.
Through a lot of effort and grace from my family, I am not back on track with my graduate school routine. The moral to this story is that a break is nice, but keep in mind that you still have the same amount of graduate school work coming back, so if you are in a routine make sure you are staying in the routine over break. If not, know that the week back is more difficult than it should be. I guess I will have to wait in see if I learn from my mistakes this year.
--- R. Tyler Horner
R. Tyler Horner is a Masters student in the College of Education and Human Development