Grad School: The Second Month of My Masters Degree

The second month of my Masters degree is over. Let's talk about it!

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Let's talk events and perks for this month!

During October, we had a talk on Metaphors. The week before Halloween, we all went to this Talk from Dr. Emma Brandt that was happening in the SILC lab. She discussed topics from her current book project Media Metaphors: The Politics of News Consumption in Serbia. During this Talk, she discussed the ethnographic research she did in Serbia while she was there teaching and researching.

The Talk was really interesting and, by far, the busiest I've ever seen the lab. We had students from my department and the anthropology department that attended and it lead to a really interesting Q&A session afterwards. There were questions regarding how you can tell if a news corporation is actually impartial in a political discussion or not, and about Dr. Brandt's upcoming project that looks at media and healthcare.

A lot of what I gathered from this Talk was how powerful metaphors can be in political climates, specifically within media. I also found a lot of overlap with Linguistic Relativity in what metaphors can convey about the speaker and to the listener. It was a really interesting and definitely something I want to keep in mind while I research.

This month was also reading week, which was right in the middle of October, lining up with Canadian Thanksgiving. Because my classes are all on one day, I felt more like I had 2 weeks off instead of 1. During this time off, I went to visit my mom and celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with her, as well as got some much needed healthcare stuff done. I finally updated my prescription, my eyes are only slightly worse now.

The rest of reading week, though, was spent working at the center, getting through course work, and getting started on thesis research. It was nice to have a little more freedom of time than I usually do during the week.

Other than the Talk and reading week, that was it this month for events and perks.

Let's talk the academic side of things! Definitely much more to say here.

At the beginning of the month, I had a meeting with the department's library contact. He took me around to the most important floors for my research interests such as the 'Stacks' and the Archives, explained how the Congress (LCC) system differs from the Dewey Decimal system and why they use this system instead, as well as what Microform and Microfiche is and how to use it.

To be honest, I didn't know there was another library classification system other than DD, so it was really interesting to learn about the LCC system. As an example, my section in the Congress system is labeled as P for Language and Literature, more specifically the subclass PD, so I look for journals with the P classification. In the DD system, my books would be under 400, specifically in the subclass of 430. Apparently, most university libraries use the LCC system.

The 'Stacks' is the section of the library where all large chunks of journals are kept on a variety of topics. If there is a book in this section that you're looking for, but can't find, it might be in the Annex - a share warehouse for books that have a low loan quota. I have a book that came from the Annex and, personally, think it's absolutely riveting.

He also took me through the section of the library that houses all our available Microform and Microfiche. These two things are essentially entire journals compressed onto either a cue card or film. There are projectors in that room that you can use to magnify the words (they're like 2 point font) on the cue card or play the film so you can read the articles. I didn't know this existed prior to the tour so it was fascinating to experience. I don't think I'll use this for my research, but never say never.

During this meeting I was introduced to a software called Zotero, which is definitely going to be a staple tool in my research going forward. It is essentially a personal catalogue of research papers you intend on using for your research. You can take notes, find all the citation information, and more. I haven't used it a ton yet, but I'm sure you'll be hearing more about it as this series goes on.

This month I also had the opportunity to conduct my first official participant interview for an assignment and I absolutely loved the experience! Before this, we were tasked with doing a practise interview with the other grad students in groups of 2 - one would interview me and then I would interview them. It was a fun experience since I had the chance to get to know one of the grad students on a deeper level (she's a really interesting person), and also got some much need practise with transcribing (it's been about 3 years since I last transcribed).

When it came to the official research interview, it was equally as interesting! It was really fascinating to sit down with my participant and pick their brain on a topic I found really interesting (being intentionally vague because of research ethics).

I've done interviewing for this blog before, so I felt really comfortable interviewing for an assignment. I also discovered, since I had to do it for this assignment as well, I quite enjoy transcribing and conversation analysis. I'm thinking I might incorporate some of this in my thesis work maybe through how I collect my data? I have lots of time to decide those things though. Overall, really cool assignment!

It's actually through this transcription that I had a chance to, what I would say, successfully engage in an in-class discussion for the first time this whole semester. I've been quite shy and more of a listener during these discussion, but this discussion was the first one where I felt like I could really contribute by offering interesting insights and not just clarifying questions.

We actually had a discussion the week prior to this one and, lucky for me, I ran into the PhD student in the grad room. We chatted about that week's readings and the question I had, which was about the difference between homographs and metaphors. He encouraged me to ask this question in class and it ended up being an interesting chat.

On the topic of the other grad students, I think I find them a little less intimidating now than I did last month. I actually sometimes really appreciate when our PhD student stares at me, in a playful and encouraging way, in our in-class discussion when he knows I can contribute to the discussion. It sometimes helps give me the push to say something. My prof will also call on me at times to contribute too and, honestly, sometimes I do just need to be pushed into a situation to be forced to contribute. I really appreciate all the support they've given me over the last month.

Let's talk T.a.ing!

I started my T.A. duties this month and I've honestly really enjoyed it. I have a literature course and a cultures course that I T.A. for. Both are online, asynchronous courses, so I don't interact with the students really at all, I just grade the work the prof's tell me to. Both classes are about 60 students, so grading can take me a while.

There's been some learning curves even though I've been a teacher for a few years now. This is because grading for elementary and grading for university is quite different (duh, right?). At the center, all the teachers operate on a 1-3 system, 3 being the best you could get. The grading system is mostly meant as a form of feedback for the higher-ups. They use these numbers when meeting with parents to chat about their child's progress since the higher-ups aren't always in class with the students to see how they're doing. So, the grades aren't like report cards and don't have much barring on the students' progression in the program(s).

University, obviously, is different. These grades directly impact quite serious aspects of students' degrees such as their GPA's and academic standing, so the weight for me as their T.A. grading their assignments is heavier for sure. Being somewhat lenient or more understanding with them is very important. I think this would perhaps be different if I was grading upper level courses, but both courses I'm a T.A. for are 1st year courses. While upper year students can definitely take these courses still, the majority of students are in their first year of university, so they're still adjusting to university expectations.

Also, I've had some feedback on the comments I leave when grading. Sometimes, they are either too vague or too specific. As an example, if I see a sentence error, I will write "this is a dependent clause that needs an independent clause to make sense", which is too specific. I now just write "sentence fragment". For too vague, I will highlight a section and comment "paraphrasing", but that's not enough information. What I should write is "you're paraphrasing here, so this section needs to be cited".

I think it's an error of mine for assuming what is common knowledge and what isn't. Not everyone knows that ins and outs of grammar the same way I do (nothing wrong with that), especially because these students are spread across multiple disciplines, and so naturally, their focus is often on the topics most relevant to their degrees.

I really take the lead from my prof's here. They know their courses better than anyone else and have way more experience with the student population in a university setting, so they know what feedback fits best.

Content wise, I've never graded for citations before and, admittedly, am not super well versed in what is necessary for the different styles. Since grading these assignments though, I gotten a lot more practise with, at least, MLA and APA. I know to look for italicized titles, for either an author's first initial or full name depending on the style, whether the text has had a translator or editor, etc. Having to look for these specific elements, I think, will also help me as a student when I write my thesis as I'll know more of the ins and outs of citing.

I really find I am growing and improving as an educator through being a T.A., not necessarily through teaching, but through assessment skills and feedback. It's been really enjoyable doing this kind of work. I'm looking forward to continuing my T.A work for the rest of this semester and when I get back to Canada in 2027.

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Let's talk the personal side of things!

Last post, I talked about how I was feeling as though there is this huge gap in knowledge when comparing myself to my peers. I think I still very much feel this way, but I wanted to share something my mentor shared with me. He called it "Wie Sie wissen".

Wie Sie wissen is German, big surprise, for "As you know" and it stems from his own experiences in his Masters degree. He had a prof who would introduce theories or topics by saying "Wie Sie wissen" which alludes to the assumption that everyone is already familiar with what's being discussed. In his experience, he found that this was not the case, that everyone else was actually equally as lost as he was.

It points to the feeling that, seemingly, all grad students go through in that they feel they are expected to know everything and nothing at the same time. He said it's often the case that it's not just me who is unfamiliar or unsure of a concept, but rather that my peers are usually in the same position. This can happen regardless of how far along they are in their degrees or how familiar they are with the department faculty. Hearing this really helped give me some perspective on my situation.

Yes, the other grad students might know more than me or be closer to those in the department than me, but they've had more time in the degree, so it's only natural. They are also still being exposed to new concepts daily as the learning journey never ends. We're all in this learning journey together, just at different stages and there's nothing wrong with that. This has helped me to humanize my peers more rather an idolize them as these 'all-knowing' beings. They are students just like me.

He also often reminds me that I'm not expected to be an expert in anything right now because if I was, I'd be teaching the courses I'm taking. That sounds obvious, I know, but having that explicitly said, silenced so much of my stress when it came to the academic side of things. It's okay that I feel like a baby right now because that's the stage I'm in being a first year. As time passes and I learn more, that feeling will change. Eventually, I'll feel more confident and knowledgeable, I just need to be patient and give it time. He's been really wonderful at helping me put things into perspective. I've definitely lucked out in my choice of mentor.

If this was any indication, during the beginning of the month, things on the personal side of things chilled out a ton. I was so unbelievably overwhelmed in the first month, and now that time has passed and I've had more time to adjust to my new reality, I'm found myself to be much less stressed. I've been able to sleep without nightmares again and my skin has calmed down thankfully.

I think I have a better handle on what's expected of me at this stage of my Masters now. I, initially, felt a lot of pressure to perform; to already be familiar with the content, to network with everyone and make close connections, etc., but I've let some of these pressures go now. I don't feel I need to know everything right now, and I also don't feel like I need to be super close with everyone in the department. I'm just trying to let things happen as they are meant to, while still being an active part of every aspect of my Masters, which I think is a much better approach going forward. I think being flexible is an absolute necessity for graduate studies, and, as I mentioned to a friend of mine, a thick skin is a great asset as well.

Let's talk the move and overall workload!

It's the beginning of November now which means it's less than 2 months till I move continents and I've honestly been drowning under the stress of this. By the end of October, the stress of everything was really started to compound on me again.

In these 4 months, between September and December 2025, I, not only, started my Masters and everything that entails (course work, T.A.ing for 2 courses, thesis prep), but I also still work at the center teaching 3 times a week (a choice I'm glad I made), I have to close up and move out of the apartment I've lived in for the last 9 years - my first apartment ever - and prep for Germany (documents for my permit, applying for housing, packing my suitcase, etc.).

4 months might seems like enough time, but it's crazy how fast time has gone by. I honestly can't believe I'm currently in my 9th out of 11 weeks of my first semester. I'm glad I have this series to look back on because with how fast everything is going. So much of it has been a blur.

I've been doing pretty much nothing but school and work for the last 2 months straight and it's turned me into a really serious, uptight, and sensitive person. I don't do much of anything to have fun anymore and I want to change that going forward. I want to have more work-life balance as much as possible, while still keeping up with my workload.

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In November, I'll be in the end stages of my first semester and starting to really serious prep for the next semester in Germany. I'm really curious to see how everything will play out this coming month. I hope I feel even more confident in my abilities, that I continue to grow as a student and educator, as well as find more and better ways to manage my stress.

Here's to seeing what the next month holds for me! I can't wait to tell you all about it.