Sunday, September 16, 2012
The Dreaded Axel- Using Figure Skating to Understand Transition
For those of you who don't know, I used to be a figure skater. For about ten years, it was what my entire life revolved around. I would wake up at 5am and my wonderful mother would drive me to the rink so that I could practice before school. After being in class all day, I would be right back at the rink for another few hours of practice and conditioning. And on weekends, you could usually find me at a competition- dressed up in a sequined costume skating a routine I'd done a thousand times to try and win a medal.
What does this have to do with the fact that I moved to go to grad school, you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my mom on the phone, telling her how frustrated I was that I hadn't gotten into the swing of things yet. I still didn't know how to get to work without a map, much less anywhere else (it took me an hour to get to Target, when actually it's about fifteen minutes away!), I hadn't figured out what I was doing in my job yet, and I didn't have that core group of friends I was used to relying on. She stopped me and said, "Oh you'll be okay, it's just like when you couldn't get your axel!" I was so confused at first until she explained what she meant- that I just had to think about this transition in terms of practicing for something that was harder than I thought and getting used to a new skill. Let me explain. The axel is a very hard jump for beginning figure skaters- it is a skill that usually takes an average of a year to land perfectly. For ten-year-old me, I was unbelievably anxious to get this jump under my belt. I would practice every single day, thinking that if I just tried it a few more times, surely I would land it. This usually resulted in a few dozen bruises and even a few tears. But I was so impatient and absolutely determined to get it, no matter how long it took. My coach would always remind me of the old adage, "slow and steady wins the race", and she was right. Instead of being frustrated with the fact that I wasn't getting it right away, I had to stop and realize that it was probably going to take time. With steady determination and a little bit of patience, I eventually mastered it. And the feeling of landing that axel after working on it for so long was that much more worth it than if I had landed it after a day!
I couldn't help but think that my mom was right- this transition is like trying to land that axel. It's taking me a lot longer than I thought to settle in and find my rhythm than I first expected. With "adaptability" being one of my strengths, I assumed it would be a breeze to get down here and immediately know what I was doing. When it didn't turn out that way, I became frustrated with myself, thinking that maybe I was doing something wrong. But when I stopped to think about it, I realized it is going to take time. I need to put a little bit of effort every day into what I want to get out of this- whether it's driving around to explore the city, calling new friends to hang out, or finding new opportunities to be involved with at work- and eventually these will all come together to make the experience I expected to have when I imagined this year.
And with a few bruises, some tears, and hopefully amazing new experiences, I will eventually land that axel all over again...and it's going to be so worth that wait!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Getting Used to the Heat: Moving a Thousand Miles and Officially Becoming a Floridian
I started this blog as much to keep in touch with family and friends as to help articulate my own thoughts and feelings while I start this crazy new journey as a grad student and semi-professional working for Florida State.
You might be wondering why I chose to move 960 miles away from the best city in the world (Chicago), to what is considered the south and has an average temperature of 90 degrees (Tallahassee). Well, my journey into the profession of student affairs actually began a few years ago, at DePaul, when I was working in Orientation over the summer. I had such an amazing time and found that I loved to work in that environment with other students! That same year, I began a job in the Dean of Students office, which quickly became my second home, and where I was able to observe professionals in the field every day. A couple of these wonderful people became my mentors, and while talking one day, one of them suggested that I look into going to grad school. The idea that I could be doing this thing that I had come to love even after I graduated was such a fantastic idea, that I immediately began researching and decided that was what I was going to do!
I was lucky enough to work for two years with an amazing woman who became a mentor and role model for me- Kelly. She really helped me identify what skills I wanted to work on in order to be prepared for grad school, and we had numerous conversations about why I wanted to go into the profession and what experiences would help me once I got there, which really helped narrow down my choices for the type of program I wanted and also got me ready for interviews. I can definitely say she was a major influence in my decision, and I'm grateful I had her guidance and expertise during that time!
After MANY conversations with other professionals, current grad students, and family members, I was able to narrow down my choices for schools to four- Florida State being one of them. I ended up choosing three of these to visit for "Interview Days". For those who are unfamiliar, a big component of a lot of student affairs grad programs is the theory-to-practice model which requires students to also work part time at the university in order to put what they're learning in class to real-life situations. For this reason, in addition to getting into the academic program, you also have to secure an assistantship (a bonus is that this usually comes with a tuition waiver!). So, I went to visit all of these schools, and after a month of nonstop traveling and wondering, I was finally offered a job with FSU's International Programs Office as a Marketing Graduate Assistant! I decided three days later to attend FSU in the fall!
Fast forward five months, and I was all packed up and ready to move to Florida! My sister, Kate, had just been offered a teaching job in North Carolina, so she joined in on the road trip and we headed south. After dropping her off in Charlotte, and three days of continuous driving/towing a gigantic UHaul trailer, I finally made it to Tallahassee!
The first few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions and new experiences. There was SO much to do when I first got here- declare residency, start my job, attend orientation, unpack in my new apartment, figure out how to get anywhere in this new city, and start classes. Meeting everyone from my cohort was great because we had been in touch since we were all at Visiting Days in February, and now we were all together again- this time as students! It was nice to have twenty-six other people going through the same thing as I was- almost like being in a freshmen residence hall again! I have loved getting to know everyone, and I can tell this is going to be a great year. I'm actually very excited for the classes I'll be taking (two Intro to Student Affairs type classes and one called Ethical Decision Making in Higher Education) because I know I will be using what I'm learning in the future with students I'll be working with. I've been getting settled into my job, too, learning where everything is and who I go to for things. I get to work in the football stadium, which is pretty cool!
One thing I can't help but do is compare FSU to my experiences at DePaul. I'm sure this is normal for every new job, but I definitely miss the environment and comfort that I had there. I do not like being "the new person" and not knowing how to get things done for myself. I miss the feeling of knowing everyone, and everyone knowing me and what I was capable of. I have not found that core group of friends yet, although everyone is very friendly, so I am not feeling connected to the University or program yet. I am sure this will all come with time, and since I have heard nothing but amazing things about this program, I'm looking forward to getting settled and feeling like I know what I'm doing! But I am definitely appreciating the new experiences I am having every day (like finally going to a college football game!), and I am excited to see what these next few months will bring!
Until next time...
You might be wondering why I chose to move 960 miles away from the best city in the world (Chicago), to what is considered the south and has an average temperature of 90 degrees (Tallahassee). Well, my journey into the profession of student affairs actually began a few years ago, at DePaul, when I was working in Orientation over the summer. I had such an amazing time and found that I loved to work in that environment with other students! That same year, I began a job in the Dean of Students office, which quickly became my second home, and where I was able to observe professionals in the field every day. A couple of these wonderful people became my mentors, and while talking one day, one of them suggested that I look into going to grad school. The idea that I could be doing this thing that I had come to love even after I graduated was such a fantastic idea, that I immediately began researching and decided that was what I was going to do!
I was lucky enough to work for two years with an amazing woman who became a mentor and role model for me- Kelly. She really helped me identify what skills I wanted to work on in order to be prepared for grad school, and we had numerous conversations about why I wanted to go into the profession and what experiences would help me once I got there, which really helped narrow down my choices for the type of program I wanted and also got me ready for interviews. I can definitely say she was a major influence in my decision, and I'm grateful I had her guidance and expertise during that time!
After MANY conversations with other professionals, current grad students, and family members, I was able to narrow down my choices for schools to four- Florida State being one of them. I ended up choosing three of these to visit for "Interview Days". For those who are unfamiliar, a big component of a lot of student affairs grad programs is the theory-to-practice model which requires students to also work part time at the university in order to put what they're learning in class to real-life situations. For this reason, in addition to getting into the academic program, you also have to secure an assistantship (a bonus is that this usually comes with a tuition waiver!). So, I went to visit all of these schools, and after a month of nonstop traveling and wondering, I was finally offered a job with FSU's International Programs Office as a Marketing Graduate Assistant! I decided three days later to attend FSU in the fall!
Fast forward five months, and I was all packed up and ready to move to Florida! My sister, Kate, had just been offered a teaching job in North Carolina, so she joined in on the road trip and we headed south. After dropping her off in Charlotte, and three days of continuous driving/towing a gigantic UHaul trailer, I finally made it to Tallahassee!
The first few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions and new experiences. There was SO much to do when I first got here- declare residency, start my job, attend orientation, unpack in my new apartment, figure out how to get anywhere in this new city, and start classes. Meeting everyone from my cohort was great because we had been in touch since we were all at Visiting Days in February, and now we were all together again- this time as students! It was nice to have twenty-six other people going through the same thing as I was- almost like being in a freshmen residence hall again! I have loved getting to know everyone, and I can tell this is going to be a great year. I'm actually very excited for the classes I'll be taking (two Intro to Student Affairs type classes and one called Ethical Decision Making in Higher Education) because I know I will be using what I'm learning in the future with students I'll be working with. I've been getting settled into my job, too, learning where everything is and who I go to for things. I get to work in the football stadium, which is pretty cool!
One thing I can't help but do is compare FSU to my experiences at DePaul. I'm sure this is normal for every new job, but I definitely miss the environment and comfort that I had there. I do not like being "the new person" and not knowing how to get things done for myself. I miss the feeling of knowing everyone, and everyone knowing me and what I was capable of. I have not found that core group of friends yet, although everyone is very friendly, so I am not feeling connected to the University or program yet. I am sure this will all come with time, and since I have heard nothing but amazing things about this program, I'm looking forward to getting settled and feeling like I know what I'm doing! But I am definitely appreciating the new experiences I am having every day (like finally going to a college football game!), and I am excited to see what these next few months will bring!
Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)