When I finished university, I knew I was ready to plunge into the next great adventure: more school. So, I took those bold steps one floor up the ivory tower and here I am: almost two months into a History Ph.D at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Grad school is cool, but just like any experience, the place you’re living matters almost as much as anything else. I’ve never lived in the States before, and I’ve learned there are tons of great things about this country, like J. Crew, Pandora, and Chipotle. And, it’s only $5 for any footlong sub this October. Plus, Providence is an exceptionally pretty town with old Georgian homes, tons of independently owned shops and restaurants, and not one, but two “occupy” something movements.
The US isn’t really that different of a place to live. My Zumba instructor is still a McGill alum from Montreal. My French class still has that kid from Montreal who for some reason can’t speak French, a kid from Vancouver, and me from Toronto. It’s like I never left.
As for graduate school, that, like anything, has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it’s a pretty spectacular way to spend your time. There aren’t any exams (unless you decide to take an undergraduate language class like me), but there is, of course, a good deal of writing and a lot of reading. This sounds agonizing until you realize that now you’re no longer just paying somebody for the opportunity to do these things. While other people seem to be either unemployed or working 100 hours a week, getting a small stipend to spend a lot of time in a beautiful place discussing interesting things with stimulating minds, and hopefully actually doing something good for the world, seems just about alright. Plus, you learn how to speed read, which a lot of people find impressive.
On the other hand, everybody seems to be ‘down’ a lot. Not down as in not smiling or not friendly or any kind of mopey—I don’t think I’ve actually met anyone here I wouldn’t put in the extremely friendly category. But, and maybe it’s because they’re all (aspiring) professional critics, everybody is obsessed with talking about the impending death of humanities education. That, and the fact that none of us will find jobs in academia when we finish our billion year slog of writing a dissertation that nobody will want to read. Meh. There’s bound to be some give and take when you find something that you enjoy and feel like you’re making a difference by doing it. Also, nobody in this country is getting jobs without some connections and a whole lot of luck.
I’d like to leave some pieces of advice for those of you still at McGill. I’m still fresh enough out of la belle province to get invited to things by SSMU on Facebook and to glance at the Tribune when I’m sure nobody’s looking. But I’ve also been gone long enough to know how awesome McGill is. It’s a beautiful campus with amazing professors in one of the most fun and lively cities in the world. So don’t rush it: follow the lead of some Tribune editors and refuse to age or graduate. If you’re finding that difficult, then put down your work for a minute. You will never in your life have trouble finding opportunities to do things that are difficult or productive. Enjoy the fact that you get to drink cheap beer on campus; that almost every single person in your social circle is within a year or two of your age; that you can finish your nap at 10 and your pre-drink past midnight and still have an awesome night. Enjoy not being too old for the student ghetto. Those are the things that won’t be there much longer. Also, go to grad school. If you’re into that sort of thing.
