Why So Serious? Keeping Your Sense of Humor While in Grad School
Let鈥檚 face it. Grad school is no cake walk. It鈥檚 a lot of sleepless nights, countless hours in the library, and a ton of triple-shot lattes. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important to keep a sense of humor while working towards your graduate degree and to make sure you鈥檙e always having some fun along the way. If you don鈥檛, it鈥檚 easy to get caught up in the stress and anxiety that can come along with it.
So here are a few helpful tips to stay sane at grad school.
1. Learn to laugh at yourself.
Learn to laugh at yourself. You鈥檙e going to fail鈥攁 lot. You鈥檙e going to be wrong鈥攁 lot. You鈥檙e going to forget to start the timer sometimes. And when that happens, just point and laugh at yourself. Failure is all part of the journey. Being a grad student doesn鈥檛 mean that you鈥檙e the expert with all of the answers already, at least not yet. It means that you鈥檙e working to be the expert with all of the answers. So when things don鈥檛 go as planned or maybe you鈥檙e feeling a little bit like an idiot, just laugh. Then move on to the next seemingly impossible task on the list.
2. Give yourself pep talks.
Sometimes you鈥檙e going to need a pick-me-up, and who better to give it to you than yourself? Just crank up that hype music, tell yourself all the reason why you鈥檙e awesome and scream 鈥淵ou got this!鈥 into your bathroom mirror.
3. Take a night off every now and then.
Maybe go catch the latest comedy in theaters! A funny movie is always a great way to take a breather and walk away feeling refreshed. Or if you don鈥檛 feel like going out, you can always order takeout and watch Hot Rod for a few good laughs at home.
4. Find happiness in grad school gifs.

Find happiness in grad school gifs. What鈥檚 life without gifs, right? So take five minutes every now and then to get lost in gifs that really speak to you in the grad school struggle bus language. Trust us. You鈥檙e not alone in this fight. And are a good reminder of that.