Grad School: First Impressions & Thoughts

When people ask me on my birthday if I feel any difference in terms of maturity, wisdom or desperation I usually answer no. But if someone were to ask me if I feel differently now that I'm in graduate school I would say definitely, yes.

I am still transitioning between undergraduate mode to graduate mode but I'd like to recap a little about my thoughts so far. In my classes our professors treat us more like colleagues rather than just another student. I felt that way in some of my undergraduate courses because of their large size but now my class sizes are much smaller. We have a nice little grad community going in our department and we are planning a potluck to get to know each other better. The nice thing about smaller classes is that you make friends easily and learn to help each other out, whether it's with homework, a hard concept, or general advice. 

Book Review: In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Prophet Muhammad by Tariq Ramadan

Available on Amazon

     In the Footsteps of the Prophet tells the story of Prophet Muhammad in a very straightforward, refreshing way. It reads more like a novel than just a fact laden biographical account since there is narrative interwoven throughout. What I liked about this book is that the sections are short and the organization is easy to follow. It begins with the story of Abraham and then the story of Muhammad starting with his birth and ending with his death.

     Many passages throughout the book are accompanied by verses from the Qur'an and hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) which helps give them context. Often times verses or hadiths are difficult to relate to but learning about the environment in which the Prophet lived and the thought processes that people had during his time helps to understand them better.

Muslims are like X-Men

Growing up one of my favorite cartoons was X-Men. I found it fascinating that people could fly, walk through walls, control fire, manipulate metal, ice, wind, water, read minds, and have countless other superpowers. These people who have superpowers are referred to as mutants in the series. I secretly wanted to be Rogue because she could absorb any other mutant's power and use it herself. But this came with a price, she couldn't touch anyone without hurting them. Her first kiss with a guy put him in a coma. I also liked Rogue because her outfit was green and that is my favorite color.