this is a man's world, but it would be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl

so my graduate studies have officially started. i just finished my first class (actually we got out around six) and it feels great to not be waiting for it all to start still. the class doesnt seem too bad. the work looks manageable and the intro was all review to me so i was happy.

i am, once again, the only girl in the class of twenty or so guys. i think there are less than five girls in the entire forensics master's program so im thinking the chances of two of us taking the same class are slim to none. this is, without a doubt, a guy's field. even more so than IT was if you can believe that. but i refuse to be intimidated by that.

aside from being the only girl, i also feel like a complete baby. i am by far the youngest person in the class. the next youngest is at least three years older than me. one guy graduated from undergrad in 1995! you know what i was doing while he was getting his diploma?? i was finishing first grade at the time, if my math is right, being a seven year old. most of the guys are closer to his side of the age spectrum than mine.

despite that, the nerves are gone, the confidence is back. i know i can do this. young and female, i can do this.

*It's a Man's World - James Brown