Living the Dream
Posted October 2, 2017 by Megan Ondricek
WHOA it’s been a crazy week! So crazy, in fact, I’m going to have to break it down with a numbered list. Here are the important announcements/news items from this week:
1. I started my internship at the Fairfield University archives!
This internship is a big deal for me. I haven’t worked since I had my son almost five years ago, so I need all the professional experience I can get. Also, I’ve never done any actual archives work before. I have some library experience and some museum experience, and here I am in grad school claiming I want to be an archivist with only a foggy idea of what that actually means. So YAY FOR INTERNSHIPS! Can you tell I’m excited? I’m super excited. This internship is perfect for me. It’s not too far from my home and it’s a small university archives, which frankly is exactly the kind of institution I see myself in some day.
2. I visited an archives for my field study.
This would be only the second time I’ve actually used an archives for research. The first was in undergrad and I’m fairly certain I had no idea what I was doing and was mostly trying to look smart. So I honestly had some apprehension as I pulled up to the Westchester County Archives in White Plains armed with my supposed research topic. And you know what? The whole thing went swimmingly. The reading room supervisor/archivist was extremely gracious and accommodating, and even gave me a quick tour of the facility! I got to look at some legitimately interesting documents (about a house allegedly used by George Washington in the Revolutionary War) just for asking! I knew I was going to love archives. I’ve come a long way since undergrad.
3. I pulled an all-nighter the night before class.
This probably shouldn’t be a news item, but it highlights an important aspect of my experience as a student. Keep in mind that I get up early and drive two hours to class. Also keep in mind that I didn’t even pull all-nighters in undergrad, because I am not a night owl and I do not tolerate lack of sleep very well. But the reality is that sometimes life gangs up on you all in one week and you are pushed to extremes. In hindsight, if I were going to need to stay up all night working again, I should really do it on Thursday and not Friday, because nobody should be driving long distances in a state of exhaustion. But I also realized something else. If it turns out that successful completion of my graduate program necessitates many more all-nighters, then by all means, I will do it. Nobody said achieving your dreams was easy.
4. Fall is really here finally!
The weather for most of this week was depressingly warm and humid, but in the last few days it has become cool and crisp and autumnal, making my heart soar. Fall is my favorite season and one of the best times of the year. I’m only mildly ashamed that over the course of two days I have made pumpkin ginger cookies, pumpkin banana muffins, pumpkin pancakes, and pumpkin spice popcorn. Yes I am one of those people.
In summary, it has been a very challenging and soul-stretching week filled with lots of “firsts.” I’m glad it’s over and I hope the hardest part of the semester is behind me. But even if it’s not, I will keep right on trucking, reminding myself that I am living the dream. Sometimes it helps to just pause, breathe, take a step back and remember all the reasons why I am doing this. I’ve dreamed about going back to school for years, and sometimes I still can’t believe it is actually happening. So yes, even with the stress and the worrying and the scrambling and the all-nighters, I am living the dream.