“How’s grad school going?” my friend from home asked.
“I mean—I’m glad I’m trying it,” I stammered, going on about a few highlights.
“But do you like it?” she pressed.
The truth is that I’d been afraid to ask myself this very question, because I was afraid to learn the answer….
But first, how is grad school going?
I never thought those four words would describe me, especially at twenty-three, but in my first few days as a graduate student, they’ve become a heavy truth I have no choice but to accept—and at the same time, they’ve turned into a statement of empowerment.
When I was a kid, I never quite fit in at school, but the outdoors were my refuge—every day, I came home and found peace and quiet in our woods. Little did I know, nature was about to stab me in the back worse than anything the other kids might’ve said.