A Day in the Life of a Grad Student
Billie R. Tadros is a doctoral candidate in English and Creative Writing and is the Assistant Director of the Writing Center at the 小蝌蚪APP. You can find more of her and her work at and on Twitter:
4:30 a.m.
My alarm sounds for the first time, the one entitled 小蝌蚪APP淎 Rustling in the Trees.小蝌蚪APP滻 hit 小蝌蚪APP渟nooze.小蝌蚪APP My wife Brooke and I have been trying to get accustomed (again) to a 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. schedule, but, inevitably, we end up staying up later and, therefore, waking up later.
5:00 a.m.
5:20 a.m.
I sit down at my 小蝌蚪APP渄esk小蝌蚪APP with my coffee so I can finish prepping for my 9:30 a.m. section of English 211: Thematic Approaches to Literature. (This 小蝌蚪APP渄esk小蝌蚪APP used to be our dining table. But Brooke and I live in a studio apartment, so in the interest of maximizing space, we now eat dinner on TV tray tables, and we小蝌蚪APP檝e converted the dining table into a desk space I can use when I小蝌蚪APP檓 working from home.)
My course section is entitled 小蝌蚪APP溞◎蝌紸PP楤odybuilding小蝌蚪APP and Trauma: (Re)Constructions of the Body in Literature,小蝌蚪APP and today we小蝌蚪APP檙e continuing our discussion of Kathy Acker小蝌蚪APP檚 essay 小蝌蚪APP淏odies of Work小蝌蚪APP and beginning our discussion of Leslie Jamison小蝌蚪APP檚 essay 小蝌蚪APP淕rand Unified Theory of Female Pain.小蝌蚪APP
Additionally, I小蝌蚪APP檓 collecting index cards from my students on which they小蝌蚪APP檝e written two truths and a lie about themselves. This is how we小蝌蚪APP檙e all going to get to know one another小蝌蚪APP攁nd learn about the assumptions we make about ourselves and others: every class meeting, I小蝌蚪APP檓 going to randomly select one or two index cards and read aloud the three statements each student has written about himself or herself. At the end of class, the rest of the students will raise their hands to indicate which one of the three statements they believe is the lie, and then the author will reveal the truth (about which one is the lie).
As Thursday was our first class, I shared with them two truths and a lie about myself:
1. My father小蝌蚪APP檚 family can be traced back to pharaohs in Egypt.
2. I have broken bones in both of my legs.
3. I have three Achilles tendons.
SPOILER ALERT: At the conclusion of this post, I will reveal the lie.
7:30 a.m.
I小蝌蚪APP檝e planned my class, I小蝌蚪APP檝e packed a lunch and a snack, and I小蝌蚪APP檝e showered, and so now, since it小蝌蚪APP檚 still early in the semester and I小蝌蚪APP檓 still trying to impress my students (and myself), I小蝌蚪APP檝e tried to dress like a professional.
I小蝌蚪APP檓 wearing what I fondly refer to as my 小蝌蚪APP渢eacher sweater小蝌蚪APP (and yes, I own two of them). I小蝌蚪APP檝e got my backpack, and I小蝌蚪APP檝e got my lunch bag on my shoulder, and I小蝌蚪APP檝e also got a grocery bag filled with books and knickknacks to take to my office on campus.
(Note one pair of what I小蝌蚪APP檓 calling my 小蝌蚪APP渋nterview shoes.小蝌蚪APP I bought this pair of plaid oxfords and three other pairs of shoes on Amazon a few weeks ago, as I小蝌蚪APP檓 currently on the job market. With regard to this particular pair of shoes, Brooke asked 小蝌蚪APP淏ut how often are you really going to wear those?小蝌蚪APP I小蝌蚪APP檒l show her.)
8:15 a.m.
(Not pictured): I park in Lot 17 at Johnston St. and Lewis St. and make it almost to the door of H.L. Griffin Hall before one of the handles of my paper bag breaks, and the whole thing hits the pavement. I see little pieces of porcelain shatter, and I mourn the loss of whichever of the three mugs I小蝌蚪APP檓 transporting with my books has just broken.
I discover it小蝌蚪APP檚 one of the mugs my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas. (It says 小蝌蚪APP淗ELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND.小蝌蚪APP) It小蝌蚪APP檚 got a chip on the top, but it looks like it might be salvageable, so I wrap it back up in its paper towel bundle and carry the bag under my left arm to support its weight. (My bicep is bulging under the stress beneath my teacher sweater, and I feel awesome about this.)
I get to my office and unpack the contents of my paper bag, placing the books on what little shelf space remains. I then take my race bib from this weekend小蝌蚪APP檚 Louisiana Quarter Marathon in Baton Rouge and affix it to my wall (my running shrine) with Scotch tape. (I had become an avid marathoner during my time as a grad student at UL Lafayette, but in 2014 and 2015 I had two knee surgeries that I thought had taken me out of the running小蝌蚪APP攍iterally. I小蝌蚪APP檝e just started to make my way back into distance running.)
My colleague, fellow graduate student, and office mate Hannah Ritorto and I have been working to perfect the lighting in this office, as you can see.
On Saturday I ran the Louisiana Quarter Marathon in Baton Rouge with my colleague and fellow graduate student Nolan Meditz, and I managed to place first in my division. My winning mug is now on the mug tree in my office.
9:30 a.m.
I plan to show up early to class so I can get the projector set up before 9:30. But I use the faculty restroom to refill the water compartment of the Keurig, and I spill its contents all over the floor and spend my prep minutes squatting and sopping up the liquid with paper towels.
I小蝌蚪APP檓 too scattered to take photos of the awesome class that follows this catastrophe (otherwise, I小蝌蚪APP檇 share them with you). Picture a whiteboard covered with marker scrawl (blue and red), which includes the following terms: connotation, denotation, feminism, epigraph, Descartes, mind-body split.
10:45 a.m.
As usual, I小蝌蚪APP檓 so enthusiastic teaching that I小蝌蚪APP檓 sweating, so I小蝌蚪APP檓 grateful that my teacher sweater is hiding the pit stains. I return to my office and play around with the dissertation schedule I小蝌蚪APP檓 trying to create for myself. I begin with an Excel spreadsheet that displays my teaching, office, and Writing Center hours, and then I begin writing tasks I should be completing daily/weekly on tabs to affix to the 小蝌蚪APP渙pen小蝌蚪APP spaces in my schedule.
This isn小蝌蚪APP檛 working as well as I had planned.
I move on to lunch, and my third (fourth?) cup of coffee in my Luke小蝌蚪APP檚 Gilmore Girls mug. [This is also a gift from my sister-in law. What I expected would be the highlight of my day was an interaction with a student in the next class in room 321 as I was packing up my belongings following my class. He said, simply, 小蝌蚪APP淚 like your mug,小蝌蚪APP and then, soon enough, as I was erasing the board, we were talking about our mixed feelings about the Gilmore Girls revival. What I think is still most vexing for me is that, as I小蝌蚪APP檝e aged小蝌蚪APP攎atured (?)小蝌蚪APP擨小蝌蚪APP檝e moved from desiring to be Rory Gilmore to desiring to be Lorelai Gilmore. (Perhaps I小蝌蚪APP檝e always desired them both.)]
One thing I should do, and that I would recommend you (my fellow graduate students) do is consider making a Gantt Chart to organize/plan your research and writing goals.
Check out these resources:
Gantt Charts
Sample Gantt Chart:
How to make a Gantt chart using Microsoft Excel:
Other tips on Gantt charts, including how to make one manually:
12:00 p.m.
My Tuesday Writing Center shift begins at noon. This is the first day we小蝌蚪APP檙e open, so we don小蝌蚪APP檛 have any clients yet, but I check the schedule just to be sure.
We小蝌蚪APP檝e got an awesome staff and team this semester; two of them, Andy Patrick and Alise LeBlanc are pictured here, and the photo credit goes to Sarah Moosa.
As the Assistant Director of the Writing Center, I also serve as the primary tutor for graduate students, especially graduate students writing theses and dissertations. What小蝌蚪APP檚 not pictured is the work I did giving electronic feedback to a student in the Educational Leadership Ed.D. program at UL earlier today.
(If you小蝌蚪APP檙e a graduate student, know that the Writing Center is here for you too! Email me at billie.tadros@louisiana.edu if you have questions about our services for graduate students or if you小蝌蚪APP檇 like to work with a tutor to develop or polish your thesis or dissertation.)
2:30 p.m.
My shift finishes at 2 p.m., so I return to my office and begin searching job postings. (I小蝌蚪APP檓 planning to graduate in May, and I aim to do this once a week, but I haven小蝌蚪APP檛 checked postings in about two weeks.)
My friend and colleague Jessica Doble comes by to say hi and give me a pep talk. Jessica小蝌蚪APP檚 focus is folklore, and she has experience with conducting interviews for research; interviews are a major part of the research for my dissertation project, so she talks me through how I might next approach my transcripts and coding them as I write my chapters.
4:30 p.m.
I don小蝌蚪APP檛 feel like I小蝌蚪APP檝e gotten enough work done小蝌蚪APP攐n my dissertation in particular小蝌蚪APP攂ut I head home so I can walk Dolly and head out for a run before the sun sets. (I小蝌蚪APP檝e been working out far less frequently than I小蝌蚪APP檇 like to because I小蝌蚪APP檓 so overwhelmed with the job search and my dissertation, but I also recognize that I need this, and that it小蝌蚪APP檚 part of who I am, and who I小蝌蚪APP檓 privileged to be following three knee surgeries.) I小蝌蚪APP檓 training for my first half marathon since my most recent surgery in September 2015 (I used to run marathons).
6:10 p.m.
I小蝌蚪APP檝e gotten my six miles in, and I feel dramatically better than I did before them. I小蝌蚪APP檓 not the praying kind, but if I were, I小蝌蚪APP檇 pray that even if I小蝌蚪APP檓 unemployed next year that I小蝌蚪APP檒l still be able to run (which has been iffy, to say the least, for the last two and a half years).
6:30 p.m.
I stretch, and I call Brooke to check in with her. (She小蝌蚪APP檚 in New Orleans for work for one more night.) I start cooking my dinner: polenta and a Kirkland Signature frozen turkey burger from Costco, to be paired with the braised cabbage Brooke and I made the other night. (I feel fancy about this.)
By necessity I小蝌蚪APP檓 gluten-, garlic-, and onion-free (and also have to eliminate other common allergens), so Brooke and I have to cook at home a lot. As our schedules have both become more and more unmanageable recently, we小蝌蚪APP檝e downgraded (upgraded?) to occasionally using disposable serving ware. (I should also mention that we don小蝌蚪APP檛 have a dishwasher. My dreams for our future, in which I have a job, include rooms小蝌蚪APP攑lural小蝌蚪APP攁nd a dishwasher.)
Dolly starts howling at me, so I decide to take her out for her night walk before I eat.
7:30 p.m.
Dolly and I get back from our walk. I serve her dinner, and I reheat my food.
Dolly has a tendency to act out小蝌蚪APP攊n general, but especially when either Brooke or I are out of the house. She howls at me because she wants treats to comfort her. (I empathize小蝌蚪APP攄eeply. But we小蝌蚪APP檙e supposed to be watching her weight.)
8:00 p.m.
The day is not over (is it ever?!), but I小蝌蚪APP檓 getting into pajamas. I小蝌蚪APP檝e got my sweatpants on and my American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Overnight Walk Shirt on. And I小蝌蚪APP檝e got wine. (Two significant notes: 1. I小蝌蚪APP檓 going to have to take this shirt off when I go to sleep because I小蝌蚪APP檒l sweat straight through it if I don小蝌蚪APP檛. 2. I will admit that the wine in my glass is Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio. (You may have noticed that the turkey burgers I cooked were also from Costco. If Baz Luhrmann could give 小蝌蚪APP渙nly one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.小蝌蚪APP If I could give grad students only one tip for survival, Costco would be it.)
My two truths and a lie? The lie is that I've broken bones in both of my legs. (I小蝌蚪APP檝e actually never broken a bone).