Little lists, Princeton edition

Thing that fill me with wonder: 

This place. Princeton is beautiful. And when I actually get out of the library and onto the campus (and beyond the campus), I am reminded of what it means to be here. And that I am here. And that is an incredible, incredible thing.

This tower! Guys, I found a tower in the Firestone Library. And you can study there. I got there early in the morning and was all alone and it made me so happy.

[Seriously. So cool.]

[A very happy Megan.]

Free cookies. But really. There's an endowment at Princeton to employ undergrads to bake cookies. And I get free cookies from it. That is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Things that make me laugh: 

Funny email lines like, "Kia engineers would like feedback on your Soul!"

Funny notes at said free cookie place:

[Wednesday nights have support groups for girlfriends of bitter unrecognized geniuses. This is amazing. Especially because you just know Princeton is crawling with 19- and 20-year-old guys who think they are the next ubermensch or some mixture of John Lennon and Vladmir Lenin. And some poor girls are dating said guys. Don't worry. It's happened to me and it gets better.]

This guy:

[Who doesn't think that he's either the ubermensch, John Lennon, or Vladimir Lenin. I like where this is going.]

Things that keep me sane: 

Conversations with friends and family who remind me of who am I am who I can be, who are are clear-eyed and kind-hearted and believe in me. (It's also great when said family and friends come visit me. That's twice as nice and gives a double dose of love, reality, and perspective.)

Conversations with classmates in coffee shops and street corners that remind me that we're all suffering and sharing this together . . . and that I'm doing better than I think I am and that the struggle means that I'm changing and processing for the better.

Apple orchards and car rides in the Jersey countryside. There's a reason this is the Garden State.

The fact that fall has finally come to Princeton. And it is beautiful and perfect.

This song. I've listened to this song countless times during the past two weeks. Because #realtalk, PhDs are hard. Like. Incredibly, incredibly hard. Perhaps at some point I will write more about how hard. But for right now, it's enough to say that there have been some really, really hard days, and it can be an emotional roller coaster. Because of needed conversations with family and friends and seeing things in a different light/different perspective, things are looking good, and I am hopeful for the future. But it has taken time to adjust to this level of hard. This song has helped in that process. It's beautiful. Give it a listen.



It's also just so incredibly Mormon at some points, which is probably another reason I like it so much.

Rise up like the sun and labor 'til the work is done.