A Grad School Journey

[black_princess]

Hey everyone,

After being M.I.A for a while I decided that I needed to ask you all a question.

I'll get right to the point. Fall is here and I have indeed started grad school. The special dorm/apartment style setting that I'm living in has a small population of black grad students there. At school, there are even less "of us" if you know what I mean.

My problem is not that I can't relate to and become friends with people of other ethnicities (my h.s and college was majority white w/ other ethnicities mixed in), it's just that I miss that sense of "kin-hood" that I've always had. That feeling of comfort and support I get when I'm around other black-americans or West Indian individuals. My mom said to me today that, "As you get higher up in your education, your gonna see less and less of other black folks.You gon have to get used to it." Do you all find that to be true?

Another issue is that I seem to be very young in this whole master's degree game. Many in my building and in my program seem to be 24, 25, 26 or older with prior careers, kids, spouses, world travel experiences, ect . . I'm 21 fresh out of college (and with none of the above). When people hear that I'm 21 they're always surprised.
So it's like I'm kind of on the outside for 2 reasons, my age (can't seem to relate to those w/ more life experience) and that fact that culturally, I find it hard to meet new people (I'm in a new city) even when I put myself out there and engage with new and different people.

So w/ all that said, any advice for me folks?? I'm stumped

I'm sure you can relate to others, you have at least one thing in common: you all are in the same dorm, in the same grad program or at least in grad school. See, there you go I went to a predominantly white undergrad but it was easy for me to get to know others b/c I honestly had no choice. They were everywhere! In my dorm, my classes, on the diag. You just have to remember that there is always school in common with these folks. And, you'd be surprised at all the other things you have in common once you get to talking to them. Try not to go around thinking that they are of another race and just try to think of them as your fellow students who probably want to get to know you too. I think I got used to the idea of being around "others" because I had 4 years of undergrad to adjust.

I just turned 24 the other day and I started my grad program when I was 22. A lot of the students are doctors, nurses, pharmacists and professionals and it was veeeeeeeeery intimidating at first. All I had was a year of professional experience (which wasn't very professional) and wasn't sure if I belonged. My mom had to tell me that they weren't any smarter or better than me b/c they were in the same classes I was in LOL! Yeah, they know more about the real world than I probably do but everyone does things at different times. You never know, they might even be feeling old in a class with 20-something's. Don't let your age intimidate you, you should be happy that you are able to start grad school so young and get it out the way. Just because you're younger doesn't mean you don't have anything valuable to add to class and life discussions.

[AKA2D '91]

I started grad school 3 months after my 21st birthday. It's not unusual. However, here is a thread which could possibly help you.

Good luck!

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...raduate+School