It's official. Grad school is not like undergrad.

I had heard rumors about this, but now...now I know this to be incredibly true.

While I was getting my Bachelor's degree, I didn't exactly have to keep up with the reading involved with every class. I would attend class regularly (except for the 8 am classes...those were not so frequently attended) and read the chapters before exam days and that basic formula was enough to get me a pretty decent GPA (good enough to get me into grad school).

Now, however,

COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

Last weekend I got horribly behind in my reading in one class and the rest of the week was honestly trying to play catch up. It was rough to put it mildly. I am insanely glad that is over and will try my hardest to avoid similar incidents like that in the future.

I am still starting to get to know people here. I have unconsciously set a goal to meet at least one new person every class. It's working so far, but I am still have a long way to go. One thing I learned in my undergrad career is that if you wanted friends, you had to be proactive and ask for them.

One amazing comfort in all of this is my dog. He has made this transition so much easier than it would have been if I had made this move on my own. It's nice to come home to someone who is always happy to see me :)

I've started volunteering at a women's shelter as of this past week. Due to the fact I have absolutely no idea what population I would like to work with in the future, I figured volunteering in as many diverse places as I can would give me a better idea.

Right now the main struggle has just been feeling lonely. I know this will get better. I keep telling myself that. I'm just in the sucky phase at the moment. It will get better. It will.