I have learned so much this year, and not all of it pertained to chemistry as you might have expected. This post describes some things that I learned about graduate school, that I wish I would have known before coming in. Hopefully this can help someone else out on their journey. My desk on a busy day :) 1. It's not always about what you know. This is probably one of the most important things I could have picked up on in my program. Being book smart can only get you so far, no matter the field you are in. At some point, you have to rely on the connections made with others to help push you along. And I'm not just talking about professors and people super high up on the tenured totem pole. I'm talking about secretaries of offices, the barista at the Starbucks, the person that works in the mail room.... and of course professors and faculty too. But if ...