Something Slightly Different – A Reality Post
Up to this point, 95% of my articles have focused on scholarly subjects and how-to guides. With around one hundred so far, this has been a fulfilling experience-I hope reading them has helped you in some way. In light of my particularly difficult and busy semester, this is my first ‘reality post’. I just need to blab a bit, but I’m also sure that you’ll be able to relate, at least a little.
As it stands, I have the following left on my plate:
- Shakespeare: Measure for Measure Quiz – November 3rd
- Modern Middle East (MME) Paper: Discuss the origins and actions of the taliban November 4th
- First Aid And CPR: Written Exam November 5th
- MME Book Quiz: The Punishment of Virtue November 6th
- MME Paper: Why does iran seem to hate the united states? November 11th
- Shakespeare: King Lear Quiz November 12th
- Shakespeare Paper: ‘Shylock’ 8-10 Pages November 17th
- MME Paper: Why are there no democracies among the arab states? November 18th
- Shakespeare: Macbeth Quiz November 19th
- MME 2nd Midterm Examination November 20th
- Tennessee Topics Paper: ‘How Religion Has Affected Tennessee’ 20-35 Pages November 20th
- American Political Thought: Ben Franklin Paper 8-10 Pages November 25th
- Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra Quiz December 1st
- Historical Methods: Reagan Paper Portfolio 12-15 Pages + All Other Materials December 1st
- MME: Two Book Reviews/Critiques December 4th
- American Political Thought Final Exam December 9th
- Tennessee Topics Final Exam December 9th
- Shakespeare Final Exam December 10th
- Modern Middle East Final Exam December 11th
I only have 17 hours this semester, but 15 of those hours are upper division classes. There is absolutely no comparison between lower and upper division in the liberal arts.
To top this all off, I am currently in Assassins, a musical written by Stephen Sondheim. This means that I am the theater’s bitch until November 16th. Unfortunately, as you can see from my work schedule, a ton of papers are due as soon as the musical is over. This definitely could become overwhelming if I don’t stay on top of things. I wish I could spend Coke reward points on assignments I’d rather not do.
The behemoth is, of course, the 20-35 page paper for Tennessee Topics. I have never done a research paper of this length, so it is definitely stretching my current capabilities. (Yes, I’m using Courier.)
The one thing that continues to assuage me is the fact that my grades for the first 75% of the semester were great. If I had not done well, I would be trying to dig myself out of a hole academically while putting on a perfect performance every night. It just wouldn’t work. Since I stayed on top of things while we were still in relatively less serious periods of rehearsal, I can now afford to skip a class or study a bit less to work on my lines.
Earlier tonight I had to make my first enemy this semester. My neighbors were pretending to be Queen until midnight, so I turned on my truck’s alarm until they stopped. Five minutes later, they started again, so I grabbed the lease agreement, banged on their door until they opened, and read the ‘quiet period’ section to them as if it were the 11th commandment. We’ll see how that goes.
Anyway, as I am sure most college seniors are wont to do near the end of their first semesters, my thoughts concern post-graduation. I want to be a stand-up comedian and a writer, yet I am going to graduate college with a degree in secondary education or history. Great.
Also, I’m no pedophile, so my French minor will have to wait for the next incarnation of the Roman Empire, led by one of Caligula’s progeny, to conquer France before she is of use to anyone.
I only need two more classes after this semester to graduate. Who knows what will come next…probably more posts like this until the end of the semester. I’ll have more time over the break, so you’ll probably see the daily, or at least 3-4 times weekly updates, that you enjoyed this time last year.
USA kids – don’t forget to vote tomorrow. Be sure to stop by any Starbucks and tell them you did. They are giving a free blended coffee to all voters.