Hi All, Classes ended last week. I'm going to spend the next few weeks trying to finish editing a book manuscript. So, I'm going to take a break from the ELounge so I can focus on that project and getting ready for the spring semester.
This time of year, when life sometimes gets extra hectic, we may abandon the work habits that are good for us and simply hustle to get everything done. I get that, and in some ways, it can be a useful strategy. For one, you might be having to fit school work in between many other family and work commitments.
Good for laughs, check this out:
Another helpful post from our friends at the APA Blog:
Hello. Tonight I am reposting a blog entry from last year. This week marks the anniversary of the passing of Dr. Susan Nelson, an important scholar and a former neighbor and friend. Shortly after she passed away last November, I posted the following:Dear students,
I am glad to welcome you
To what I expect will be an exciting
And challenging
Year at Claremont School of Theology.
When I began my journey
Into theological education,
The word “career”
Had not crossed my lips.
I entered my first program, rather,
As a seeker.
I loved to read and muse
And I wanted an opportunity
To think about the meaning of life
And to grow
In wisdom and knowledge
I knew that life is fragile,
But I had not yet learned
How to hold the brokenness of life
With the joy of discovery
That, broken or not
It was worth the journey.
I loved beauty,
But I had not learned that beauty is fleeting
And that finitude is part of what
Makes it so beautiful.
I yearned for loving relations,
And had yet to realize
All the ways in which
I could learn to avoid
The tension of face-to-face relations.
These learnings were critical
To my growth as a human being
And to what eventually became
My calling as teacher and administrator.
I expect that each of you
Is something of a seeker.
Curiosity and possibility
Have drawn you to this place
To this faculty and staff –
To the fellow students you will tussle with
And perhaps enjoy along the way.
I expect that you will not be the same person
When you leave CST
That you are right now.
I expect that you will know moments
When the works feels out of reach,
Your studies less than lustrous
And many other moments
When you will know the satisfaction
Of accomplishment
And the joy of doing something
Really well.
And I expect you will grow friendships
And learn an important lesson,
That mutual respect for all people
Is critical
For the flourishing of life.
May you thrive in your challenges at CST,
May you grow in appreciation
Of the privilege
Of learning
In a community of scholars
May you have stellar teachers and mentors,
May you find moments
When you are surprised by joy
Or struck by a beauty
That totally draws you in
Providing absolute distraction
And, may you risk companionship
And the messiness of life
In genuine community
A year ago,
Students asked me to consider
Giving a “last lecture” –
If I were invited
To give the final lecture of my life,
What would I say?
Since that time,
I’ve had to actually consider
“Last things”
And how to live
In a present reality
That seems so precarious.
What I would say if asked
To give that lecture on this day, is
Practice awareness,
Watch yourselves breathe, -
Every day find at least one thing to be thankful for
- Tell others what they mean to you -
Forgive,
Laugh,
And practice the discipline
Of taking nothing for granted –
Or perhaps, better said,
The discipline of forgiving yourselves
For all the ways
You will take life for granted
And receive it anyway.
Grace and peace
Be upon you.
My colleague Melanie Booth, host of the higher ed blog Prattlenog, has just published a post about a challenge she is having in her writing process. She is working on a chapter for a book and is having trouble with one particular paragraph. I invite you to read this post and get a glimpse of her process and how she views it. 
A student recently asked for advice regarding how to maintain friendships while in graduate school. Here is a post from last year, that I hope will help:
Hi All, 
If you have just started your grad school journey and you either know that your writing isn't as strong as it could be, or you are getting that feedback from your professors, then I strongly encourage you to seek help from your writing center. Work closely with a writing specialist and learn what you need to learn to clean up your writing. 
Hi All, Here are twelve apps/websites that I find particularly helpful:
