Healthy Respect

Tomorrow begins the homestretch. My first final starts at 7:30 in the morning. I then will spend the rest of the day preparing a presentation due Wednesday and studying for a final that I will take on Thursday. I'm not too stressed out. I don't know if this a good or bad thing, but I'm going with good. It is hard to believe I am almost done with my first year. Come Friday afternoon, I'm not sure what I will do. Yes, I will be relieved to be done, but, at the same time, I'm not sure I will know what to do with myself!

Finals in grad school are not nearly as exhausting as finals in undergrad. I think this is because I have learned how to learn. A good teacher not only knows their content, they know how to teach their content so that the learner can learn. Through teaching I have learned how to learn and this really has helped me in grad school. How to learn--- It is a skill that can be taught, but so often it is taken for granted. We just think learning is innate. But to some extent, the learning process is learned.

Now, having said all of that, I still want to clarify that I have a healthy respect for the challenge of finals week, I'm not saying that they are easy, I'm just saying, I think I am prepared. I suppose there is only one way to find out...