Academic Update

Well, it's getting down to the wire for this semester.

Tomorrow plus two weeks until fall break, then two weeks of classes and then it's finals week. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

My pride took a major hit this semester, for two reasons.
One, I had to be honest with my instructor that I hadn't read anything (save for the first nonfiction book) by the time midterms rolled around, and she was gracious enough to grant me an extension, so long as my exam reflected "quality" answers. It got me into every article, though, and I responded to every question, even when it was "pick 3 out of 5." (When it came to the final long-essay question, I only answered the one of two that I was instructed to, though, because I figured she'd had enough to read from me.)
The second reason is related to the first. I learned that I am not good at self-scheduling and self-pacing and self-motivation. (Considering at how many times those show up in other places, I don't know why I'm surprised.) Because I lack successful functioning in those areas, online classes don't really work for me, which means I'll be taking more on-campus classes than I anticipated. I think I honestly learn better that way, though: take notes on the lecture, re-read the same material in the book later, and then also do activities for that subject. I guess I'm just old-school enough that technology can't replace everything for me. I also function better when I have a chunk of time set aside to learning, like four and five hour blocks of time that I can get lost in a textbook or nonfiction book. I can't do the hour-long study sessions on my lunch break at work or focus on two hours of schoolwork every night after work. Like, ok, I physically can, but it rarely happens and it's never successful when it occurs.

I am loving what I'm learning, though. The foray into cultural anthropology, as far as the subject is concerned, is fantastic. If it weren't for my failings at self-motivation, it would be perfect.

To be fair, I told one our graduate assistants at the office what my reading schedule was like (1-2 textbook chapters, plus 2-3 articles, and about a third of the nonfiction book that we're working on, per week, not to mention the hour-long online video we typically watch nor the discussion post [plus three comments] related to said video that we post every week, too.) She said, "Dang, you're doing graduate-level reading!" especially after I showed her that the articles have no abstract for me to read instead of the entire thing. (And keep in mind: my class is a 100-level class. Granted, it is online, which typically involves more self-involved activities, but it still seems like a lot, and I had no idea of that when I signed up for the class.)

My class next semester is a technical writing class, for which I will have two hours of instruction and one hour of recitation. It was either that or a composition class for which the description sounded an awfully lot like the composition class I took at my community college, and I'd had enough argumentative writing there, TYVM.

I'm really looking forward to my Intro to Prehistory class and some of the higher echelons of archaeology (which delve into specific areas, like Mesoamerica.) I also can't wait to try my hand at Medical Anthropology, which is one of the areas of concentration I'm having a hard time choosing between.

Ah well.

Four weeks of class left in this semester, the restarting of my academic journey.
I will make it. I may be bruised, battered, beaten, and bloody by the end of it, but I'll make it.