First_Year_Grad_School = function (survive triple booking yourself)

Initial signs of spring in Iowa City around the second week of April

Welcome back! I am back to share what has been going on since November. Fall break was amazing, we went back to South Dakota. After exploring and hiking at the Badlands, we climbed the highest point of the Midwest (Black Elk Peak - 2208 m), and we visited Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. We got to experience truly magical scenery during our road trips and hikes. After that, I successfully finished the last weeks of my first semester. It was exciting because, at the same time, I was finishing the first draft of the introduction of my year project. I really enjoy the variety of tasks graduate school brings, but at the same time, it is challenging because there is always more that I have no idea about. Anyhow, winter break came around, and I got to fly back to Hungary. The break was really amazing. I spent a lot of time with my family, and a really good friend of mine from undergrad visited me. It was really funny because as my family was picking up Lucy, we got a flat tire… at the airport… at 2 am. What made the situation quite ironic was the fact that this was the second time we got a flat tire within 2 weeks. Regardless, Lucy and I explored the city, including a few places (like the New York Café) where I had never been before. It was wonderful. Soon after that, I got to meet up with a few classmates from high school. I enjoyed seeing some of them, since I have not seen a few people for over 6 years. Back then, we may not have been on the best of terms, but it was interesting to see the journeys and paths they have taken. Lastly, I got to participate in the UWC in-person selection process. This is something I wanted to do for a long time, and it was so exciting to see how our candidates interacted and solved problems. Giving back to the UWC community makes me feel happy, and I am confident that I will continue my volunteer work with the Hungarian National Committee. 

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. The time had come again to go to the airport (a few hours after the UWC selection weekend had ended) and leave. My parents took me and we said goodbye, covered in tears. That moment felt really special, and little did I know how much of a cherished memory was in the making. Returning to Iowa was bittersweet. I was sad to have left Europe, but excited to meet my cohort and friends again. I am proud to be able to use the term “friend” because during my first year at Iowa, I struggled with making connections, but by now, I feel like I belong here at least in part. 

Just like that, the semester started, and I soon became overwhelmed by assignments, research, and starting to see my first clients. I went to Orlando for a workshop, and I began analyzing the data for my first-year project. At the same time, I got to know our second-year students more closely and formed closer relationships. I was learning to code in R, and I was planning a summer rotation with another lab. I was also playing with the thought of visiting Colorado or Utah for spring break. Unfortunately, I fell sick right before the break and could not travel. We still did a day trip to Chicago where we explored the Aquarium and an Ikea. We also watched UNC’s basketball team lose in the March Madness, which was devastating. While this all sounds so amazing and you are probably convinced that doing a psychology Ph.D. is the best decision you can make, there are always two sides to a coin. I try to keep this blog authentic and honest, so I will share some of the challenges. The reading load is really heavy, and my comprehension of some materials is quite shallow. I think I am reliving some of the challenges I had when I started doing academics in English for the first time. “Graduate school is not ment to be easy”, and for sure it is not. How many times have I double (or triple) scheduled myself? A few for sure… How is it to be grading essays at 10 pm for your student, while you also have no idea about the material? Sounds like a perfect match. Want to spend 6 hours in the clinic on a weekend to grasp how to assess academic achievement? Check. Play phone tag with clients? My life would be so boring without it. Have a mental breakdown over mixed-effect statistics models? Let’s not even go there. Perhaps on top of that, deal with personal life challenges that completely change the way you see the world? Almost as if that was the only missing piece. I am not trying to be cynical, but I think it is important to be mindful of the hard times. With all honesty, I think this is one of the hardest semesters I have ever worked through. At first, I thought I had to do it all alone, but slowly, I shared some of my struggles, and I got support. It is a learning curve, and I am convinced that one cannot complete it without a community. And one thing we have here, in the middle of nowhere, Iowa City, is a community. It is beautiful and I am grateful to be part of it.