Welcome to Week 4!

Welcome to week four of ATDP. This week, you’re carrying half the summer’s work on your shoulders, looking forward at the other half, and thinking, “How on Earth am I going to carry all of this weight?”

Here’s the good part: once the reality of the task ahead settles in, you take a deep breath and look to your left and to your right. Beside you, you see your classmates, your friends, your parents, your TAs, your instructors. You see your tutors and counselors and the people who work in the office. They’re tired too. This is not a race. When you’re at week four, so is everyone else.

Week four is exhausting and a little scary. Midterms are due, progress reports are coming, and it feels like there’s not enough time left to produce something that will justify all of this work that you’ve done. On the other hand, week four is when you realize that you’ve settled into a routine, that you know your classmates, and that we’re all in this together, as trite as that sounds. That “product” you’re so worried about? That’s something we do together, too.

This week, when you look ahead, don’t think about the weight of the knowledge in front of you — think about the people who will help you carry it.