No rest for the weary

I've struggled a bit the last couple of weeks, to be honest, in trying to determine what to post about, but I want to maintain the integrity and honesty of my postings, so I'll be true to what stage I'm really in currently in my MBA.  Semester III has been a bit like hitting some kind of wall.  I've wondered what the cause may be, but have recently discovered 2 other students in my very own group had this same experience.  I'm not sure that the cause has been completely discovered, but last week, over lunch I experienced a bit of a revelation.

I was asked to have lunch with two of the new Cohort 3 students, and it was my pleasure.  I sensed their excitement, and at the same time recognized their sense of being a bit overwhelmed at the pace of getting back into school.  I remember feeling the same way in what seems to be ages, but was really only 9 months ago.  They also are attending the Main Campus, so they have the opportunity to have Professor Warren and Dr. JoJo.  They asked me questions about each teacher and about projects that are coming up.  It seems like so long ago that the same mountain of projects laid before me, and now those are only distant foothills behind me.  The lunch reminded me of the quick sprint that is Semester I.

One of the best selling points of this program is that its a very quick 6 semester program.  I guess where I and some of my fellow students are at, is that this program is taken at a sprint pace, but the race is a full 2 years.  From my experience, the first semester is dotted with projects, homework, writing assignments, and the sheer caseload can be daunting.  However, you make it through and feel like conquerors knowing your efforts now have you 1/6th of the way done.  Semester two seems lighter in the number of projects and papers, however the ones you do have are deeper in nature and takes more attention over weeks, rather than being knocked out in a weekend.  The dialogue opens in Semester II, and I felt that the majority of professors were true facilitators of the educational process.  Accounting was a bit heavy in assignments, but thats the nature of the course... to know how to do balance sheets, income statements, and the like, it takes alot of practice.  We ended with Organizational Behavior and Change.  Our experience was unique in that our Professor moved to San Antonio, and won't be back for future cohorts.  I loved Dr. Green, and her style of managing the classroom.  I'm also a great fan of Dr. Werner.  His teaching style is perfect for me- highly organized, however, clue to future students- he is an excellent writer and expects the same from his students.  SPEND TIME PUTTING YOUR PAPERS TOGETHER, PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO APA FORMATTING.  Anywho, enough of that rabbit trail- Semester II closes, and you can't believe you are 1/3rd of the way through the program

And so here we are at the great wall that is Semester III.  Professor Moten is amazing, and I didn't know a foundational course like Finance could be so well taught.  I'll be honest, the concepts are all new to me since I didn't have a finance course before in my life, so its taking some time to really comprehend the concepts.  This next week is our first exam, and I dreamt all night about Net Present Value and the Discount Factor.  I'm a little nervous, because up until this point, before most tests, I would take the day off from work and meet other students in the library for a study session for a final cram before the test.  I just don't have the luxury of that kind of time off, and honestly, the time I do have I want to spend with family and not these books.  Ah the price of being an MBA student!

Ethics has tons of reading this semester, and the class is open discussion, but sometimes proves to be a challenge for me.  Having a background in Theology and Psychology, when discussing morality and truth, people often bring into the conversation faith and human psyche.  I find myself frustrated sometimes  just because I've had extensive instruction in those areas, and I have to remind myself that because I have "been there, done that", that I need to have patience with the course.  Much like my friends who have extensive Marketing backgrounds as we covered some of the topics in the Marketing Course, I sat on the other side of the spectrum in that class, and am thankful for their patience then. 

This semester also has what I'd call "strings attached".  In 10 weeks of Ethics, there are three case study papers, a group debate with group paper, and individual paper,weekly readings, and weekly a topic to research and email the professor about and weekly a question to ask the professor about the readings for class discussion (which I have learned leads to him asking a series of questions back, calling for further research).  In the other 15 weeks Finance class there are tests, and off hand I can't fully remember about a group project, but there is an individual paper.  It's pretty intensive, and I know I'm not the only one who doesn't feel that I have my head wrapped around all of it or even a good grasp on a plan for getting it all done.  I have a fantastic group, and we have plans in place for the Ethics group project done, so I guess we have one leg under us.

So as you can see from my lengthy description- I would categorically summarize the semesters like this.  Semester I- High Quantity, Semester II- High Quality and Independent Thinking, Semester III- High Quantity and High Quality Expected.  Add to this "equation" that between Semester II and III is only a 1 week off (a "perk" of getting through the program quickly), and you can sense that some of us are feeling a bit ragged, and like the students of Cohort III just entering the program... a bit overwhelmed.

Back when I was working in Tajikistan on project that took on a life of its own I learned something that has helped me through times like this before... No matter anything, that second hand keeps ticking.  The minutes and hours shall pass, and in time this too will pass.  No matter the effort, we will end up on the other side of this and it will be over, and its just up to us to give the best effort.  Until then, there is no rest for the weary... its time to keep going.  Remember, around Friday, June 17th, we will be on the pinnacle of this mountain.  Done with the first half, and heading down the second half of this journey that is the Concordia MBA.