School is hard!

Yes, I know. If it wasn't hard, then everyone would be doing it, right? :-)

I had my first test last week. I am almost 100% sure that I bombed it. And no, I'm not saying that in a cute, ironic way, and you won't see me come back saying, "OMG, I thought that I failed and I ended up with an A-minus! Craziness!!!"

No, I actually will be having that reaction if I end up with a C-minus. Seriously... I'm not proud of that moment.

I did study. I studied my butt off. However, I studied the WRONG THINGS and FORGOT a lot as soon as I was overwhelmed with the lack of multiple choice. It was almost all essay and short answer, with maybe 10 multiple choice questions...

Panic attack.

The only good thing about this experience? I got a much-needed wakeup call. Time to get SERIOUS (I thought that I was serious, but apparently I was not...) about studying and doing my assigned reading, as well as taking better notes in class.

Also: Half (or more) of this exam was things that she had discussed in class but WERE NOT IN THE READING or ON THE STUDY GUIDE THAT SHE GAVE US AND SAID "THIS IS WHAT IS ON THE TEST". Okay, enough shouting for one post...

I am going to be purchasing a recorder thingie to bring to that class with me. Then I will be able to transcribe the notes later. I will have to sneak it in, as she has specifically told us "no recorders" because the "stifle her speach" but I don't know what else to do. I would hate to miss something that she said in class for the next big test.

Anyway, that was last Tuesday... Time to move on.

To all the single mothers who have simultaneously worked fulltime and gone to school fulltime:

How did you do it? WOW.

I am NOT a mom. And it's been about 2 weeks of working fulltime and going to school fulltime...

...and I'm about ready to die!!! I applaud all mothers, especially single mothers, who have accomplished this.

I'm not really ready to die; I'm still super-excited to be back in school, and love my life in general.

I just really need some sleep.

There are not enough hours in the day!

So, in the interest of keeping things in perspective: At least I don't have kids.

I'm ready for a nap. Unfortunately, I have to work for another 8 hours or so. Then I have to go to class. The only thing that is getting me through this morning is thinking about 9pm tonight.

I will be in bed. Sleeping. I have no homework to do tonight, so I will be catching up on the sleep that I have lost so far this week! (6 hours of sleep Monday night, 4 hours of sleep last night... I'm a woman who is used to 8-10 hours a night!)

Good news: I feel as if despite being exhausted all of the time, I'm doing really well in school so far!

Blog update- I'm going to add some fun things to my blog, including "textbook quote of the week" and "something I learned this week in school". Keep an eye out for that! :-)

Class is cancelled. Boo-hoo.

Tonight is supposed to be my second English Comp II class... but since it is snowing, it has been cancelled.

:-( :-( :-(

On a lighter note, last night was my first "Introduction to Theatre" class, and I absolutely loved it. I'm loving college!

I just feel kind of gipped so far, class-wise. First, there was no class on Monday because of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Second, my Intro to Theatre class had a substitute teacher on the very first day. And now a snow day?!

I just want to learn, people. That is all.

I love American Government!!!

Seriously. I'm so happy with my Tuesday night class!

First of all, the age range of the students really put my mind at ease. There were students from 18 to 50 in there. I was happy to be right there in the middle. :-)

Plus, everyone seemed really eager to learn. There were questions being asked and answered, on the first night of class. It really made me feel comfortable being myself, asking questions myself and smiling throughout the class.

The professor is amazing. I am loving her!

Plus: the class itself is going to be a breeze. The syllabus was given out, and all of the material is things that I really am interested in. I want to learn all about our government, and why we do things the ways that we do.

The teacher says that all of the tests will be right in our text books, so there will be no surprises and if we do the reading, it should be relatively easy to get an A.

And that makes me happy. :-)

My School Supplies

I thought that I would be a total back-to-school dork and let you know exactly what I bought for supplies!

Here's a picture. From left to right, top to bottom:

1) weekly planner. This has enough space to write down all assignments, due dates, everything.

2) hilighters.
3) pens
4) mechanical pencils
5) messenger bag/laptop bag
6) 4 3-ring 1inch binders, one for each class
7) 4 folders, one for each class

Not pictured: paper, dividers

Tomorrow is my first day of on-campus classes! I start with American Government at 5:30, right after work.

At work, I'm not doing my best. Time to get back on the ball there, since I badly need this job if I'm going to keep doing fun things, like paying bills and eating.

no school today!

There are no classes today because of the Martin Luther King Jr. day "holiday". I think that this is crazy, because Dr. King was very into eductation. So into it, that he became a doctor. What better way to celebrate his life than to get to class?!

And of course, I have been frantically searching memphis.edu this morning to double check that there are no classes today, because missing my first "International Relations" class is my worst nightmare. And it does appear to be true. No classes today.

I can't wait until tomorrow, my first "American Government" class! Maybe there will be another non-conventional student or two in there. Maybe not. I don't really care, I just want to learn!!

English Comp II: the first class

First of all, I was so excited all day yesterday that I could barely function at work (or home, for that matter). I had GIANT butterflies in my stomache about this class.

Here's the scoop:

My English class, though a University of Memphis class, is taught off-campus at Cordova High School. Which is way closer to my job than the campus, so I was pretty happy to have one class held there!

The professor... I don't remember her name now, but she was pretty awesome. She is funny, and talks like a teenager.

Which seemed appropriate last night, since... I was basically the only student in there who wasn't a teenager. Seriously, I think that 90% of the class was made up of 2nd semester 18-19-year old freshmen.

The other 10% were me and the 21 year old who sat by me. He said that he was thrilled to see that he wasn't the only non-freshman in the class. I had to break it to him: I am a freshman, just an... uncoventional one! He also told me that I didn't look "that old" when I told him the year of my high school graduation (2003). What a relief to not look "that old".

I told him that I wasn't "that old" and that he'd find that out himself in 5 years. He laughed. But I was serious...

Anyway, the syllabus didn't intimidate me, which is a good thing. The entire class will be leading up to the final project, which is a 10-12 page paper that makes an argument. It's like a debate paper, which I think I will really enjoy writing.

She mentioned that since we only meet weekly that this will be more like a "web-enhanced" class. She says that some assignments will be due before the next class, through email. That we can find our assignments on the web page... I don't have internet access at home, so I began silently screaming when she said this.

Here's more good news: On Monday, the Comcast people are coming over to my apartment to install cable and internet!!! And I get DVR for free for a year, and HBO free for 6 months. I'm pretty stoked about this, since I've lived without cable and internet for years now. YAY!!!

So anyway, to sum up my first day: I feel old and wise. Which is fine with me (for now).