The MSC class of 2015 is nearly two months into the program – I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s hard for me to believe! I spent months anticipating the start of classes, getting excited to meet the cohort, and becoming apprehensive about fitting the course load into my schedule. But since class began, it has been amazing to me how easy it has been to engage with the subject matter (and amazing how quickly I remember the feeling of relief after turning in a midterm). What’s even harder to wrap my head around than the fact that I’m a student again is how fast I know this year is going to fly by.
As I watched the Chicago Marathon runners make their way past my apartment last month, it struck me that I can approach this year in one of two ways: as a marathon or as a sprint. In ways, it will feel like both. We will all need to pace ourselves so that we don’t experience “worker burn out” (Thanks for the term, Roloff), and in other ways we’re going to need to fully throw ourselves into our classes so that we can squeeze as much out of them in this short time as possible.

I think we have a choice here, though. Will we look back on our time in the MSC program as a well-paced, long jog to the finish, or will it be a flash-in-the-pan, all-out sprint? I’m going to work with every fiber of my being to choose the former. Just from sitting with you all in class, chatting at lunch, and emailing about assignments, I’m quickly realizing how quickly this year will go and I want to not only enjoy it but to actually remember it! So I’ll see you all on Saturday with my coffee mug full and my typing fingers at the ready – and maybe later on with a beer in hand at happy hour! (After all, we’ve got to have some fun alongside all of that brilliant thinking, right?)