How to Survive Working Full-time and Getting your Masters: Christen-style

As of a week ago, I am officially finished with my Master of Science in Gifted Education.  [Insert shouts of joy, sighs of relief, etc.]  Since I am already the gifted specialist at my school, my position or job title will not change.  However, here are a few related effects/results from finishing grad school:

1. I will get paid slightly more.
2. I am officially certified to teach gifted students and more importantly, well-equipped to meet and understand their needs.
3. I still love Samford and believe you get a great education there from some truly caring professors.
4. My classmates have become dear friends and colleagues. 

These are all very valuable, and I am definitely glad that I pursued this degree.  But it has been anything but easy.  Honestly, I had no idea how difficult it is to work full-time (at a job that is already fairly consuming and often more than 40 hours a week) and attend graduate school.  Each semester also got increasingly difficult in terms of workload and time required for the courses.  That's probably a good thing though--I may not have ever started if I had know all that it would entail.  But by God's grace and a lot of self-discipline, I made it.  

Through this process, I developed my own personal strategy for survival: rewarding myself with trips. :)  For the last three semesters, this plan worked very well for me and brought me the extra motivation I needed.  

Spring 2013: Went on a mission trip to Haiti at Spring Break--had a ton of work before & after, but it was so worth it and good for my soul to do ministry again in that capacity

Summer 2013: Actually managed to finish my massive concept-based curriculum unit 2 weeks early so that I could go to Puerto Rico with friends and enjoy a few days of complete relaxation before the school year started again

Fall 2013: Diligently worked on my practicum requirements & e-portfolio all fall so that I could go to Mexico and visit many dearly-loved friends at Thanksgiving, then came home and pushed through to finish everything the first week of December

So, that's the story of how I survived working full-time and getting my Masters.  Now, I'm ready to enjoy having more free time... bring on weekend road trips, watching TV, getting more sleep, and blogging more than once in a blue moon! :)

with my family on graduation day