the light at the end of the tunnel... and a glimpse of the future

I am officially three quarters done with my Masters. Yes - the light at the end of the tunnel is almost in sight. It has been a great semester, with a lot of challenges and a ton of lessons learned.

I took two classes, attended a research conference, submitted a manuscript for publication, completed my thesis prospectus, and taught an undergraduate class. It was quite a ride.

I don't remember exactly how many papers I wrote, but I had 10 drafts of my prospectus. One night, I worked on it non-stop for 12 hours. A week later, I worked on it again for 16 hours without closing my eyes. I once again discovered the power of Coca-Cola. I used to need a liter to stay up - now I only need a glass.

This semester, I must say, showed me my future - and I think I like it. I taught my first undergraduate class. I developed a syllabus based on the materials from a more seasoned professor. I created my own exams. I gave official grades. It was both unexpected and not a surprise at all. Unexpected because I told myself once that I'd like to do something different than what my parents do for a living. At the same time, it was not a surprise because I have been born and raised in the academic world - spending my afternoons as a five-year old sitting at the back of my mother's classroom as she taught college algebra (though the algebra did not rub on me as much). I realized that teaching is something I'd like to do for a very long time.

My SFL 224 Sec 1 students - It was an amazing experience!

During our last day of class, I treated my class with pizza. It wasn't a bribe or anything. I guess more of a celebration. I can never be grateful enough to my 20 undergrads who came to class and treated me as if I am "real" professor. I know that a lot of times, my inexperienced teaching skills overpowered my desire to teach effectively, but they did their part none the less... and because of that, I was motivated to improve and become a better teacher. My students were smart, and it could be intimidating sometimes. But then again, we learn as we grow... It was as if I was learning with them, only on a different plane. At the end of each day, I tell myself - "well, that was a good class" and more and more, I am convinced that I have found my place in the academic world - or at least I have found the place where I want to be.

By the way, Carl surprised me with a bouquet of flowers on my last teaching day - and treated me to Tucanos for a well deserved dinner for the both of us!

Also, before the semester officially ended, I was able to defend my thesis prospectus. It could have been worse - in fact, i thought i wouldn't make it to the deadline. I have the best graduate committee one could ever ask for. The prospectus meeting lasted for an hour and thirty minutes, the first ten minutes was me talking and the rest was my three super smart professors talking about what else I can do to improve and solidify my thesis. In the end, I passed pending revisions, which is all that I could ask for! And as promised, Carl took me to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack where we overindulged ourselves with crabs and shrimps and lobster.

Seafood Overload!

And that was the end of Fall Semester 2011 :)