Well, midterms are now done and just as soon as I exhaled things have picked right back up again. The sheer volume of information to have learned for the tests was great and all I want to do is take a breather from studying but the readings keep on coming and the papers all have due dates attached to them. There is no time to step back. The mid-terms grades that I have gotten back have been good, better than I expected actually. So all that’s left to do is to keep pushing on, keep clacking away on the keyboard, keep reading, keep asking questions, and most importantly keep striving to fully understand as much as possible. It is a marathon run by the brain, and December is looking more and more appealing, although that brings its own stressors. I have entered a portion of my first semester that is heavy on papers to write and chapters to read. Then there will be the looming final exams in December.

In the mean time I am forming relationships with fellow students, professors, and other members of the UMB community. The new friends and colleagues are intelligent friendly and thoughtful and always up for a lively discussion. In addition to the new friends it is time to start thinking about the next semester: it is nearly time to sign up for courses for the spring semester. With my courses planned out for my time here at UMB I am ready to wake up early and sign up, I know the teachers I want to get and the classes I want to take, it is just a matter of ensuring that I get those that I want.

I now, having written this entry, reflect on just how fast the semester has gone as I am planning for the next semester and beyond and making an official decision on my concentration and specialization and I am reminded of this quote from Albert Einstein “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once” although, sometimes it sure feels like it.

I wish you all peace and happiness.