Practically everybody today knows someone who is in graduate school or recently graduated from it; in knowing those students there are well-known struggles that are often joked about: being constantly broke, working multiple jobs and sleep deprivation, just to name a few. However, there are plenty of other struggles that don't get the same attention but are nearly as common. Here's a list of five struggles that graduate students know all too well:

1. Realizing You Aren't An Undergrad Anymore

Attendance not affecting your grade, roommate(s) drinking and turning up on a Tuesday, skipping a class because it was too early and you just couldn't be bothered, all the binge drinking and wild times you enjoyed—they just can't exist any more. There are too many obligations and too much responsibility that demands your attention. It is a tough pill to swallow, but one that must be consumed in order for you to succeed. Being known as king_mixxxy in my undergrad days I had to face the music much to my dismay.

2. Having Strong Words For Your Professor(s) And/Or Other Student(s)

At least once a week, there were some strong and profane words for my professor(s) and/or my fellow student(s). Whether they come in response to an ill-advised group pairing or harsh grading on an assignment—that at the time felt unnecessary but later showed itself useful—or getting four different assignments from three different classes all due at the same time the following week. There were plenty of times I walked around campus and had to let it go like Elsa.

3. The Lack Of Personal Contact

Going to grad school is practically a commitment of seclusion. All the work you have to do coupled with the studying required to stay afloat and succeed, you don't truly get the opportunity to keep up with your friends or your relationship—if you have one—the way you once did. Trying to meet up with old friends? Psshhh, forget about it! You might be so out of touch with some people that they seem like completely different beings to you now. I thank the Lord that my fiancé stood by my side and continues to do so as I progress through grad school, it hasn't been easy but we've made it work.

4. Questioning If It's All Worth It

When you are up at 4 a.m. studying for a pair of exams you have in two days, cursing loudly because you are out of coffee/red bull and the topic(s) you are trying to understand could not make less sense if they were being explained to you by Marvin the Martian speaking in Chinese, you start to wonder if all the effort is worth it. Along with the workload and expectations from family and professors, or lack thereof, to contend with, there are plenty of pressures and obstacles you must overcome. I am a firm believer that if you haven't come to this moment, you are definitely doing something wrong in your graduate school career.

5. ...Determining That It All Is

There is no better feeling than getting through a perilous semester and receiving those high marks. I only say that because I have yet to complete my degree, but when I have I'm sure I will replace this notion with that of graduation but until then it stands. Nobody said it will be easy, and it takes a special kind of person to choose the grad school life.
But overcoming the challenges and proving the nay-sayers wrong is such an empowering feeling.

Graduate school isn't simple or easy as people think, and takes a level of commitment most aren't initially ready to give. However, the strong and willing find a way to find it within themselves to power up and face the challenge head on.