My name is Tano, graduated from Texas A and M International University in organizational communications. And I graduated back in 2019.
I wish I had known how tedious the work would be, but I didn't expect myself to adapt so quickly to the workload. Gradually you'll find yourself discovering more interesting ways to get you through the day. And it all narrows down to how badly you want it, not how smart you are or how good you are at school.
It doesn't take the smartest person in the room to do well in graduate school. It's more about who is willing to put in the time and work, especially since getting a master's degree has no shortcuts and it takes real work to succeed. So ask yourself. How badly do I want it?
I would talk to my professors regularly in class, as they can provide essential feedback in a more direct and relaxed manner than in a classroom setting. And it helps to understand, your professor's point of view by reading carefully the texts you are assigned to read, you'd be surprised how often professors might actually assign course material, such as a journal article for you to criticize and comment on rather than summarize.
Professors are just people like you and me, and they want to do their job well in any way they can. I assure you with the utmost confidence that not all professors who teach today were the smartest in their class. When they got started through hard work and communication with their professors, they were able to use the same learning techniques in all aspects of their academic careers, and eventually go on to teach themselves, believe me. They are eager to return the favor to you.
You should find someone that is, like-minded like you with the same background or knowledge that your research interest lies, but please be warned. You will find yourself humbled by the information that they can produce at the top of your head, but on the bright side, that will point you in the right direction for research and may even suggest to others that you should talk to enrich your academic experience.
When discussing an article or topic, throw the questions back at them, and ask them what they thought about the article. What they would say are the shortcomings or strengths of that field. This will give you an idea of how to properly analyze text in that discipline group.
The best experience is the open discussions with professors during class if applicable the conversations that are sprung up by professors to get people talking often with conflicting ideas and reasoning, um, logic will always prevail. That's just the dialectical process when it comes to the academic tradition of a college classroom and makes college a more lasting and memorable experience.
Many minds are greater than one, and everyone should recognize if they bring someone else up to speed, it just makes education better for all. So keep calm and don't be afraid to ask the opinions of your classmates. If you see they are doing better, only look to your peers to make sure that they are not falling behind and not to make sure you're doing better than them. You'll find graduate school can be a collaborative experience. If you allow it to be.
The only thing stopping you from achieving your goals is the excuses you put forth to inhibit your success. Don't let yourself get in the way of your dreams and don't let the burnout discourage you from trying hard burning out is just a physical manifestation of you getting smarter much like a muscle. So go get it done because you and only you can make it happen.