I’m officially one week into my graduate studies and haven’t broken down once, which I call a win! In all seriousness, this week has been great. I’m one of those weirdos who really likes school, so getting back into it has been exciting. Let’s jump into this week’s review, shall we?

A lesson I was reminded of this week is to not judge a book for…well, being a book. When I see that a book is required for a course, I cringe. My assumption is that each chapter is at least 20 pages and because I’m a slow reader, it will be a big time commitment. I was pleasantly surprised when the introduction and first two chapters were less than 15 pages. This got me excited to read, which is somewhat rare when I’m assigned a book.

Ironically, I then learned the importance of decluttering when writing. In past courses, I’ve ruthlessly fluffed to achieve the word count. Thesaurus.com was my lifeline. I’m eager to put that behind me. I enjoy writing in a more casual sense but have never felt it appropriate when it came to writing for assignments. Now that I have the opportunity, I won’t take it for granted. I’m excited to keep things short and sweet while conserving the important bits. This idea is increasingly important due to the internet and social media altering our attention spans to be shorter than ever. Information must now be broken down in a way that is compatible with the quick skimmers and relentless scrollers. Embracing that tone will be an adjustment, but one that I’m excited to make.

To be completely honest, I’m not one to read articles very often. Like the majority of young adults, I get my news from social media. If I see something that I want to look more into, that’s when I seek out an article. I’ve never paid attention to why I choose certain articles over others, but learning about the elements that make an article successful has me curious to know if I subconsciously looked for them. With this in mind, I’m excited to get better at crafting pieces that are engaging to readers in all aspects, from layout to content.

I’m excited to see what the next week brings; see you there!