25 things I've learned during my first year of graduate school...

1. I know nothing. Seriously.

2. I learned quite a bit about cell biology, structural biology, and immunology---and I enjoyed the process!

3. I can wake up at 3:47 AM in the morning consistently for 6 months.

4. I can function on 5 hours of sleep for 6 months, but I will not be a pleasant addition to anyone’s day.

5. I now know that college was a totally unique time in the social aspect of my life. The deep friendships I made at Trinity are truly amazing.

6. I call my mom. Often. She’s undoubtedly my best friend. She kept me awake while I was driving to work at 4:15 AM for 6 months. This is the one time the time zone difference actually worked out in my favor.

7. I have the ability to give the “double bird” to groundskeepers who think it’s funny to honk right while I walk by the front of their truck. Guess what? It felt good.

8. I have worked more at graduate school in one year than I did during my entire stint at Trinity, and I feel like I’ve aged considerably.

9. Surprise visits from friends are invaluable. I know the sound of your sneaky-run-up-behind-Lisa-and-squeeze-her-to-death walk, Brittni.

10. California has grown on me. It’s only taken a whole year.

11. For about 2 months I thought I had Hepatitis C, based on a false positive result. I learned that having a fake disease can sometimes feel like having a real disease.

12. In February, my husband and I began to tithe at church. Within 2 weeks, Tony had a job that nearly doubled his salary, a new (working) car, and a note from the government saying they were going to pay us for the rest of our lives. Powerful.

13. I’ve experienced two earthquakes in the last year, but I only felt one of them. I couldn’t tell my grandma about it, because she’d probably explain her “California-is-gunna-sink-into-the-ocean” theory for the 45^th time. I probably should shut up and listen.

14. I saw the cab of a semi truck roll down the 5 on fire, with a guy (presumably, the driver), running after it.

15. I enjoy photography. I am apparently unknowingly following in my father’s footsteps, who became interested in photography during his early twenties. I have one of his photos hanging on my wall.

16. I found that I don’t do well in haunted houses. This should not come as a surprise to anyone. I spent the better part of one Saturday night with my head buried in my husband, or a friend’s back. On the haunted hayride we went on, one of the diseased townspeople jumped up on the wagon, right by me, got in my face and told me I smelled nice. All I could say was, “You do too…”

17. Not going home for Christmas was a stupid idea. May we never let that happen again.

18. We were able to fit 1200 square feet of stuff into a 790 square foot apartment for one year. It was cozy (that’s a really nice way of saying it was cluttered and consistently messy).

19. I’ve found that I rely on my husband to a fault. When he was considering re-joining the service, a main concern of mine was about who was going to kill the spiders while he was at training.

20. I never thought I would enjoy working with kids. After working for the spring quarter at my church in the 3-5 year old room, I now look forward to spending time with them. They know me. I have a favorite, and her name is Taylor. She gives me hugs whenever I open my arms. She gives Tony headaches by pulling down entire trays of cookies and then eating them off the floor.

21. I enjoy cooking. I like using weird ingredients and strange recipes. I am also not afraid to say that we occasionally eat frozen meals and hamburger helper. I think I’ve learned that life requires balance, and I can’t be the perfect wife and a graduate student who works 60+ hours a week.

22. I have become a fan of blogging, even though only a handful of people read my blog. It makes me feel connected to family and friends far away, and provides me an outlet to be creative.

23. I can’t imagine anything more fun that spending time with my husband at home, or driving around aimlessly with him. I have accepted the fact that I am not a social person, and to only have a few friends is just fine in my book.

24. I now read CNN and I am interested in current events. Last year, I could have cared less. I think this new found interest stems from the need to look like I’m doing something important at my desk, when all I really want to be doing is reading recipes, looking at LOLcats, and stifling my laughter about awkwardfamilyphotos.com. Or, we could just pretend that I’m becoming an adult.

25. I survived a year of graduate school, and I only threatened to quit a handful of times, without ever following through. One year down, four to go.