Last week at DU

I had such a fantastic weekend! There were so many reasons, including having almost no homework to do. Usually at this point in any quarter I'm completely swamped with papers, tests, presentations, etc. But this quarter they were all perfectly spaced out. I had a test and paper last week, 3 presentations this week, and 3 final exams next week. Presentations are really easy for me. I don't get nervous at all speaking in front of people, and I enjoy making powerpoint slides and all that. The only frustrating part is relying on group members to pull their weight.

So I'm so completely relaxed and that has allowed me to really enjoy my last week at DU. How insane is that? I have come here almost every day for 4 years, and lived here for 2 years. And after next week, I will never have to come back. I'm sure I will, because Daniel will still be taking classes here, but I will never attend a class. I won't be a student anymore. I think I'm really going to miss that. Being in college gives you such a sense of community and belonging. I have been a member of this awesome club that has so many perks I can't even begin to name them all. But now I'm moving on into the adult world. I'm really excited to see what that will be like.

I met with Ivana and Laura today to discuss my future job responsibilities. After that meeting, I am so much more excited about the job. Ivana stressed that I will not be Judy's (or anyone's) student. I'm taking over all the projects Laura has been working on. I will have my own work to do, independently. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I am tired of coming into work and asking "what am I doing today?" Starting on June 6, I will have a long list of work to do, on my own. And the list is full of things that I know how to do and enjoy doing. I will get to do in vivo mouse work, and tissue culture work. I may help Judy once in a while, but only if she really needs help. And I will be working with one other person managing the mouse colony for the whole lab until we hire a full time mouse colony manager. And eventually.... I will get a student! How exciting is that?! I have been a student for so long, and in a few months I will be helping a new student learn all the skills that I've spent the last year and a half learning. I won't be at the bottom anymore.

I still don't think it's hit me that in 2 weeks, I will leave the campus and never come back again as a DU student. Right now it still feels like another day of class. But I only have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday left. On Friday I fly to Indianapolis to watch my twin sister graduate from college. I wonder if that's when it will hit me. We are college graduates! On one hand, I am incredibly proud of this accomplishment. On the other hand, I'm frustrated that I still feel the need to get a master's degree to get the quality of living that I want. But for now I'm going to celebrate the end of a very long 4 years. And the beginning of my independence!

I am officially paying all my own bills. In the next year, Daniel and I will be self-sufficient. We will be living off of my meager 25K salary. That is scary. But we've sat down and crunched the numbers, and we will be able to pay all our bills with about $500 left over each month. That doesn't leave a lot of room for unexpected expenses, but we should be able to survive without going into debt. And that budget includes not only rent, utilities, gas, and groceries, but it includes all the expenses my parents have been paying up until now: health insurance, auto insurance, student loan payments, cell phone, and more. And between the 2 of us, at our 2 different universities, we will have to pay about $70 a month just on parking. That makes me angry. I am finally realizing how much it costs just to live. It's a lot. But we're just starting. We have many years to make lots of money. In 9 short months, Daniel will have his master's degree and he'll get a great job and we'll live happily ever after!