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Back to School: Round 2, Week 8

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am now only 2 weeks from completion, at least for this level of school. While there is a part of me that is itching to get back to work, a part of me is going to miss the bubble. The one that seperates school from the rest of your life. There have been some funny, good times, and while there was an inherent trust in this group of people from day 1, we've reached the point that is more than just comraderie from circumstance. 

I looked around the class one day this week at the 60 or so of us. Out of the group, I've had conversations or interactions with at least half of them. While there are social 'groups' within our numbers, there wasn't ever the sense of division. Maybe some people feel that way, but that's not the way I've experienced it. 

Part of me wonders if those that I've talked to have ever had the experience of working with a woman on the jobsite before. I wonder if their contact with me or the other women in our class have impressed a new or otherwise unthought of opinion about having women working in the trades. Granted it's a little different, my generation is growing up to fight these kinds of gender stereotypes. But still, part of me hopes I made an impact.

As for actual school stuff, this past week was mostly absorbing the last of the information we need to learn. We are wrapping up the last of the new concepts, or taking that last step in the progression. Next week should mostly be review, and the final week will be all the testing. There is certainly a sense of things winding down. 

That being said, there is a part of me that is overwhelmed with the amount of information I've consumed in the last 2 months. I feel like before school I'd been working blind compared to the things I understand now. And unlike some things you learn in school, most of it I feel like I'll actually use! I can tell that I've been lucky with the exposure on the job that I've had. It makes a big difference in the learning process. I've witnessed first hand those that work in restricted environments or narrow sectors of this trade and how that has hindered their learning in school. 

Personally, my goal is to be a generally well rounded electrician, and not stuck in a narrow, specific section of the trade. I think that makes for a more desirable employee.  

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