Manhattan & Postbacc Living

Well, I've just finished my third week of classes at NYU and let me say, it's been a weird roller coaster. I've had my highs and my lows, my scary moments my happy moments, and deep down, I know that this is merely just the beginning...so I had better get used to it!

Going back to school hasn't been so hard, but trying to learn subjects I avoided all of my life and the pressure of knowing that I MUST do well this time around...the stress can get to you, especially since chemistry and biology (especially chemistry) are subjects that don't come to me naturally.

Luckily, the third week of classes means the third week of getting used to the ginormous university that is NYU and more importantly, it means the third week of going to class with my fellow postbaccs and forming friendships! Hooray! I know this sounds corny or maybe you'll read this and think "duh", but having friends and knowing that they are feeling the way you feel makes this worth it and it inspire me to do my best.

The friends I have made in this program are so lovely and diverse! We all comes from different walks of life, different academic backgrounds, and even our ages vary --- though we are all in our mid 20s. This of course if just the group of friends that I've begun to form. They are people in my program that already hold PhDs, that graduated college in 2001, there is even a pregnant girl! As you can see...very very very diverse crowd.

You may be asking, where is she going with this? Well, despite the brutal workload and the obscene amount of studying that had to go on this past week, reflecting now, I had a really lovely week and for the first time I realized, "I truly love being a Postbac and I am really happy that I came to NYU."

I should elaborate, Bryn Mawr is a very small liberal arts college with an undergrad population of 1300, last time I checked...and when I got to NYU, I felt like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz." It was like a twister had plucked me out of Bryn Mawr and dropped me into this urban university whose size and somewhat menacing demeanor was so foreign to me. Rather than lengthy pleasant email conversations with professors or being invited to visit office hours whenever (which is what I experienced at Bryn Mawr) at NYU I was told coldly by my professor --- who was addressing a class of 700 students --- do not email me I will not respond. Its a bit of culture shock. Not to mention the class size. A big class at Bryn Mawr was about 40-50 students, not 700!!!

Both my chemistry and biology lectures are so big, the only place on campus that can comfortably hold us is the Skirball Performing Arts theater! 

Anyway, returning to my point. The first two weeks of class is hard because you are settling into a new environment and trying to figure out a rhythm. Also, you start to become friendly with other people, but are you really friends yet? There is a lot of emotional uncertainty as well as academic. I realized this week,I surpassed that.

I have become very close to one guy in my program, M. He is in both of my lectures, my chemistry lab,and my mandatory chemistry study group. He was also in my precalculus  class over the summer. Lots of face time. When we are not in class, we often study together too. He's really lovely and really really smart! Also, he went to NYU for undergrad, so he is always showing me around, which is super helpful. For the past two weeks it had sort of become "me and M" and it still is a bit like that, but I was really excited when our circle of friends began to expand.

This past Wednesday, there was a workshop for new postbaccs and it was all about academic resources and tips on how to succed in bio and chem. M and I attended. We met another postbacc whom we both knew from our classes, MM, as well as some others. Long story short, next thing I know, mobile numbers were exchanged and we were texting each other and planning things.

On Thursday, to prepare for our weekly Friday chemistry quiz, a bunch of us got together to form a study group. Rather than stay in the library, which was depressing all of us, we relocated to a nearby coffee shop in the West Village. Over piping hot coffee, we quizzed each other, and you know what, it was really fun! It was super helpful and I'm feeling good about my quiz, but academics aside, it was fun getting to know people that I really only saw in class. Our conversations usually consisted of "did you understand this problem" or "can you believe how fast lecture went?" but after we finished studying, there was laughter and joking and just...it was so pleasant.

This leads me to yesterday, Friday, which was a fantastic day! We all had chemistry recitation in the morning and afterwards we went our separate ways. M and I went searching for lunch and a nice place to study that WAS NOT the library. We eventually settled on the 8th floor of Kimmel, which had the most magnificent view of Washington Square Park that I have ever seen! I couldn't stop staring out the window. How I managed to get work done, I don't know. After a couple hours, we both got antsy and decided it was time for a coffee break.

M knows the downtown area (NoHo, SoHo, the village) really well, so I let him lead. We got coffee at a little place called "Aroma" and it was delicious! Strong, but delicious. Finding ourselves in SoHo and not wanting to return to work quite so soon, we walked around and did a little window shopping. It was a lot of fun. We did this for about 30-45 minutes, but ithink it could have gone on for longer. We eventually went our separate ways, but we'd be seeing each other again soon.

A couple hours later, I get a text from my other friend MM saying she needs a break, do I want to do happy hour with her and some other people? Without even thinking...YES! I met her and M at NYU and we walked over to Avenue B together. M recommended this place. We get to the bar and two more postbaccs appear. Almost instantly the drinks start flowing and the laughter begins.

Being able to hang out like this was amazing, almost therapeutic. I really enjoyed getting to know my fellow postbaccs and become friends with them. Before starting this program, "M" was a nutritional health/anthropology major at NYU, "MM" was an art history major at UCLA, "L" went to college Northwestern and then did two years of law school at Boston Univeresity, and "H" studied finance/politics at Stern (NYU) and also worked for a year in finance. As you can see, a mixed bag. They are all also just really cool down to earth people and I really enjoyed chatting with the, all!

Tortilla chips, fresh guacamole, and white sangria!

I gotta say, even though this was one of our first social gatherings, I felt like we were all really comfortable with one another. The whole idea of happy hour...being able to unwind together after struggling all week, it's amazing. It's a reminder that a) you are not  alone and other people feel the same way and b) it reminds you that you have a support network and that you have people you can turn to. Gosh, I feel like a hallmark card. It's true though!

This spur of the moment happy hour was such a success and we had so much fun, that we decided to make this a regular ritual! Fridays mean Postbac happy hour! :D Can't wait for next week!!!!