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Grad school is the best — it really is. However, it’s super hard and intense. There will be tears. There may be some blood along the way (it’s okay — it should just be a paper cut). But, there most certainly will be a need to cope with graduate school and the rigors of life as a student, especially when you’re juggling work as well. Here’s my list of suggestions for coping with graduate school. You can trust me on this — they helped me get through my first graduate program. I’m a pro at this!1) Get out your aggression. This can be done in many ways. I joined a rugby team, and trust me, tackling people a few times a week is awesome. Unfortunately, I broke a finger and am out for the season. Also, I can’t box (how I survived my MA), but I can do some cardio at the gym, and that does essentially the same thing. I recommend finding some sort of exercise — get out that aggression!

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2) Plan events in your life. These can be dates, trips to the many Chicago museums, a show/concert/play/movie around the city (especially at awesome venues like Music Box), or celebrations of milestones.

3) Set up a bar time. Last year, a group of us in my cohort of students in the Creative Writing – Fiction MFA program always went out after our Thursday class. We had a place near school that we went to (I’m sure the venue may change this year), and we always talked about our various courses, how we were doing, and things we liked — and, of course, we bitched a little bit. A little of that is healthy. Trust me. Don’t be afraid to bitch (suggestion 3.5).

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4) Learn that coffee is your best friend. Any kind of coffee. I treat myself to Intelligentsia, my favorite brand, every now and then, which leads me to #5…

5) Treat yourself every once in a while. Find small things that will make you happy. A new CD, a nice cup of joe, a funky t-shirt from Chicago-based company Threadless… Just do it every now and then.

6) Have time to unwind. I like to unwind at night with an episode of TV. One. It mushes my brain enough so that sleep will happen.

7) Have one day over the weekend where you don’t work on anything. I pick Saturday, because Saturdays are Rugby Days in my apartment, and after the game, well… let’s just say it gets unproductive.

8) Keep a group of friends outside of school friends. You’ll want friends that don’t know your school trials and tribulations. They’ll be good to bounce anything off of that isn’t school related, and they’ll likely agree with anything you say about your program. Sometimes, you can have too many opinions among fiction writers, and you need those few friends that just nod and agree with you.

There you have it. Have anything to add to this list or an addendum to make? Add it to my margins.