I’m getting my Masters Degree from the institution where I work. It’s often an interesting ‘balance’ — and thank goodness for tuition remission! Funding for Masters Degrees is generally non-existent, and funding for graduate degrees in general seem to be disappearing over time. Isn’t that dreadful?

That said, I believe in Higher Education and its value. I’m a full-fledged Higher Education Advocate and I know there’s a fit for every student out there. You want to talk about going to college, I’m your girl. You want to talk about how it’s life changing, hit me up. You want to talk about the pains of college too, yep I totally understand and have a bazillion resources I could share. I didn’t want this professional path in the beginning, but becoming a Professional Unicorn Cat Princess wasn’t available as a job (nor would it bring home the money). So I fell into Higher Education and am now pursuing it … at least until I win the lottery and then attempt to buy College Board.

Classes start in a couple of weeks, and as the summer has slowly come to it’s close I realize that I generally look forward to the start of school every year. The flow of the academic calendar isn’t meant for everyone, but I love it. Fall is short and sweet. Spring is dreadfully long but then transitions into brightness. There are huge bouts of stress and tension around mid-terms and finals, and then comes the airiness right after grades are due. What a love story.

Getting to campus itself every morning doesn’t take me long (I know a lot of people who come in from NJ or Upstate, or other states…), and it includes one of the greatest things I can give myself: a walk through Washington Square Park on my way in. A lot of people do this to get to their offices around here, and some might even think it’s a ridiculously simple thing to mention, but it’s become a powerful tradition and daily habit of mine. Who knew a walk through a park right before hitting the office could be a serious preemptive to a good or bad day? This city has a lot of fun things to offer, and I hope I highlighted enough for you, but it’s very hectic too. I’ll take 10 walks in the park if I could to remain sane… Do you have any soothing things to to help you clear your thoughts right before the day starts? When I was in high school, my mom and I would get up early and watch Pokeman or reruns of Charmed right before we departed for our days. It became a thing that we kept looking for each morning, and it was pretty neat too ;p.