Chapter 14: Mi Vida Loca: My Crazy Life As A Full-Time Doctoral Student

“You need a life!” he said as I headed back into Tillman Hall, the very building students, staff, and a few faculty members were scurrying out of to begin the weekend. “This is my life. I put my life on hold for this,” I hastily retorted. To his defense, his statement was not one of criticism, but rather concern. The same concern expressed by other friends and family, and more loudly echoed by my mother during our daily phone conversations. I may not make my bed, take out the trash, check the mail, or exercise on a daily basis, but the one thing I am consistent about is speaking on the phone with my mother, my rock. These conversations can be a short and sweet 10 minutes or go well past 30 minutes, make that 60 minutes if my niece and nephews are around. Frankly, I’d be lying if I said she has my undivided attention the entire time—of this, I am certain she is fully aware. In addition to catching up on the latest going on at home, during this time I also manage to watch the local news, reply to a few emails, cook, and eat dinner before heading back to campus. Well, maybe not cook, but more so prepare myself a sandwich or pour a bowl of cereal. And yes, I will admit, ramen noodles. I find it necessary to indicate instant ramen noodles because while I’ve been locked up in Tillman Hall, ramen has come to reign beyond the walls of college residence halls and onto high-end menus. In any case, our mother-daughter phone calls usually end with “Te Amo¹,” but not before a bit of scolding for my lack of rest, eating right, and of course, late nights in Tillman Hall. Estás loca², she often says. “I know,” I reply.