Monday, September 08, 2008

First day jitters

Today was my first day of school. Being back at school is very strange. I feel old and out-of-place. And I mean, Masters? Ick. It sounds so academic and serious. Why am I doing this again?

So my program is made up of about 120 people. 97% of which are young Caucasian women. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it was slightly surprising to see very few visible minorities in the class, especially considering the fact that the field of social work is ever-present in the lives of minorities and immigrants.

Anyways, it was okay. Scary at first, but okay. I walked in with all these nervous jitters, thinking to myself that I was definitely going to flunk out of this program and "how did I even get in?!" But hopefully time and experience will eradicate those fears. It's transitioning from one period of your life to another that's the difficult part.

Also, my classes all start at 8:30 in the morning. I think that's morally wrong, and discriminatory against those of us who aren't morning people.

That's all.

Bye.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

good for you, girl.

Anonymous said...

i also have the "how did i get in?" and "how will i get out?" thoughts.

for me it's the inverse. i'm the young one. the class average is 4 to 5 years older than me. which is fine i suppose. i've always been one of the younger ones in all my classes. and at work.

think of it this way, you can make fun of 97% of the people in your class.

Anonymous said...

Here's a hug for having to wake up so early....I feel your pain :)

Asmaa said...

Mayfair, thanks :)

Adnan, well technically I am fairly young...but I feel old, tired, and wrinkly inside.

Afroza, someone agrees with me. Also, you should come back to Toronto because campus isn't the same without you.

Anonymous said...

any theories why there aren't more visible minorities in your program?

Anonymous said...

asmaa, i wasn't taking a shot at your age. i'm sure you're very young, on the inside.

Asmaa said...

Anonymous, well I think one of the major reasons is that post-post-secondary education (i.e. grad school) is even less accessible to the majority of the population than a regular undergrad is. So it's related to income brackets. As it is, some minorities, especially those who are disadvantaged in society, have much less chance of making it into university at all, let alone graduate school due to the impact of poverty/social norms within their sub-communities.

On the flipside, perhaps some minorities, and I can speak for Muslims here at least, see other professions as being more of an "accomplishment." Going to med school or becoming a pharmacist or lawyer tend to be seen as more prestigious choices than someone who gets their hands dirty in the community.

Feel free to disagree with me. These are my personal theories.

Adnan, umm. Thank. You. Maybe?

Anonymous said...

No Beards at your school? What an utterly deplorable state of affairs!