New Year, New Semester, and Interviews

I wasn't ready to leave undergraduate until I started my graduate interviews. It looked so scary. I'm going to (probably) go to a new place, have to find new friends and a new place to live. I'll be financially independent. I'll have to start over, in a sense.

But since the interviews, everything has changed. I've learned a lot.

Seeing the students, meeting the professors, I can see how hopeful everyone is. When you study environmental biology, the world can be a pretty depressing place. We learn all about how humans have messed up the planet, and how almost every solution we've come up with only makes everything worse. But these professors, my future mentors, really believe that we can make a difference. And when I look around at me at the other prospective students and hear about their passions and interests, I can believe it. We are the next generation, and we can make a difference.

I've also learned that, unlike in undergraduate, everyone is there because they want to learn more about the world. I am not alone in this. I will not be judged for caring about what we're learning. I won't have to deal with classmates who just want the grade. I will fit in.

I'm excited. I'm optimistic. There will be people who can understand me when I get there. There will be professors who care about my ideas and will want to nurture me as a academic. I feel like I will be able to accomplish something.

Or maybe I am just delusional.