Setting or Sitting Apart

 I wrote a while back about the fact that there are several degrees of separation between where I am and where I used to be (see what I did there . . . degrees? . . . Masters? PhD?)

I wrote about how friends and relationships change based on those changes. I now have PhD friends. I get along better with people who are at the same level. I'm not saying I am automatically going to get along with someone cause they have a PhD, but I did say that people need to change and grow together. Marriages, friendships, etc etc need to flux and change based on those changes.

I'm sitting here at my class in Kansas experiencing that to a degree right now.

I have taken my "comps" . . . remember all those posts about my comps? That stressful time? That incredibly stressful and horrid series of tests and oral exams. Ugh, I shudder just thinking about em.

I'm in a class where everyone in the class is in their first or second year of their PhD. I'm in my third of fourth year. There is a significant degree of separation between me and those others here.

It's distinct too. They are all still trying to figure out what they want to study, and how they intend to propose it. I'm not only figured out what I want to study, but I've already proposed it and am studying it.

Why am I here?

Well, this is why I decided to go to KSU. They have a hybrid program. Even though I've finished my online classes, I still have in person classes . . . residencies, . . . that I have to complete. This is it. This is that moment.

Am I getting much out of it?

Yeah, I'm getting a ton of time to write. I'm transforming my dissertation to an article. I'm getting to interact with others, and my professors, but those others don't have much to do with me. We are in different phases. It makes me think about what I wrote up there. Sheep and cows right? Catch up, adapt, or be left out.