9 Things Every Grad Student Has Earned The Right To Complain About

1. You’re tired. ALL. THE. TIME

I’m exhausted 7 days a week and I only have classes 3 of those days. If I’m not in my classes, I’m doing work for them. And those three hours a day that I’m not doing work, I’m asleep, stress dreaming of all the assignments I’ll have to do when I’m awake.

2. You’ve Lost (A Lot Of) Weight

I’ve had to add an extra whole in my belt because all of my jeans are loose. And it’s not due to progress from going to the gym a lot because let’s be honest, who has time to go to the gym four times a week anymore. I’ve realized it probably has to do with the peanuts I have for lunch since I’m too busy reading articles or editing a draft during my lunch break to actually have a decent meal. Let’s not forget the weight you lose from stressing out about all the work there is to be done. Forget New York Sports Club, Grad School is the more popular gym. It’s a tad more expensive, but it’ll get the job done.

3. 

You Feel Guilty Every Time You’re “Having Fun”

There’s really no downtime when you’re a graduate student. If for a brief second you think you have free time, you’re immediately suspicious and anxious that maybe you’re forgetting you have several chapters to read, a group project meeting you’re now running late to, or even a test/quiz to study for. Whether it’s miniscule or huge, you know there’s always some work that you could and should be working on, so stop kidding yourself.

4. You Don’t Have Fun Anymore

You can’t remember the last time you had a really fun night out. Recently a friend told me her tolerance level for alcohol has decreased so much since starting grad school since she doesn’t have time to go out as often anymore, and she now gets drunk off of two glasses of wine. All I could say was #same. And all your other hobbies are now a thing of the past, too. Being able to watch your favorite shows live every week? Ha, in your dreams. I may be the biggest fan of The Mindy Project (I’ll never forgive you FOX, but shout out to Hulu), and I’m about three weeks behind. I’m not even sure who I am anymore.

5. You Don’t Even Remember What Your BF/GF Looks Like

While date nights used to be consistent, they’ve recently become few and far between because you now have a paper basically due every day, not to mention the other 1000 things going on. There’s a reason celebrities typically only date other celebrities: they understand the lifestyle. So either date someone also in grad school, someone who’s totally understanding or just be single because you’ll eventually learn that grad school is your possessive, needy spouse for the next couple of years anyway.

6. Cancelled Classes Aren’t Even That Important

In high school, a teacher being absent was the best: free period! In undergrad, a cancelled class was also desired because it meant you could sleep a little later. Cancelled classes in grad school (aside from being really rare) don’t even matter! You’ll just end up in the library during the class meeting time anyway because, as mentioned above, you ALWAYS have work to do.

7. The Days Of The Week Are No Longer “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.”

While normal people remember the days of the week based on the calendar, you remember based on your classes. *Thinking to self: “oh, what day is today? Is it EDUG713, or 851? Wait, is it 722 AND 728? Ugh.” #hotmess

8. No One Makes Plans With You Anymore

In the beginning, your non-graduate school friends tried to make plans with you, but they soon realized it was a waste of time. So now whenever someone new asks for your availability for social reasons, you just give them your graduation date. #Classof2017

9. You Contemplate If It’s Really Worth It

Every day is a incessant conversation in my head if I really need this Master’s degree. Is it really that necessary to have another super expensive piece of paper, I mean degree, to hang in the house or office? Because Oprah doesn’t have one and she’s doing pretty well for herself so why am I putting myself through all the stress, you know?

10. You Remember That It Will Be Worth It

At the end of the day, while these years may be the most stressful, you know what won’t be? That feeling of great accomplishment when you’re finally finished. Not to mention that pretty sweet paycheck associated with having a Master’s. Because that’s why we’re all subjecting ourselves to a 2/3-year long Hell Week, is it not?