By my senior year of college, I could fly through my assignments and earn A’s on half-assed work. I could effectively balance bar-hopping and writing essays, and working part-time jobs and cramming for midterms. I knew that grad school would kick it up a notch, and I was ready for the challenge. However, I had forgotten what it felt like to try and not succeed, and I wasn’t quite as prepared for my self-esteem to take a beating.

I admit to not putting 100% into my academic efforts in college, but that was because I didn’t need to. I was writing papers with a buzz on and taking finals hungover, and still made Dean’s List. I knew that grad school would be different though, and I fully intended on being a legitimate scholar.

If you are considering grad school, you are probably doing very well in school. By senior year, you’re probably breaking the curves and tutoring your friends. You probably stand out in class for having thoughtful ideas and a firm grasp of the subject matter. Newsflash: Everyone in Grad School has gotten used to being a star scholar.

Often, PhD students and MA students will be mixed into classes together. I went from taking Shakespeare classes with business majors who didn’t know the definition of “iambic pentameter” to listening to a PhD debate over which folio edition was most likely the Bard’s original manuscript. WTF? My thoughts exactly. Read More »

Guess what? Now all you socially conscious brides-to-be (and lovers of bling bling) can get a diamond ring after all!

That’s right, friends. The good people at Apollo Diamond will now grow you a perfect diamond for about the same price as a real diamond. Plus, it comes with its very own birth certificate!

Okay, I know I sound like I’m mocking this, but actually I think it’s a really great thing.

As most people know, diamonds come with a heavy price-tag (and I’m not talking about your bank account). Remember this movie? Yeah, it stirred quite a controversy, mostly because people over here in the U.S. of A. didn’t (want to) know the truth behind diamond mining. But the truth is, diamonds cause a lot of blood shed in parts of Africa, especially in Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire, but also in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), and Sierra Leone. Read More »