Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Finals, graduation!

Sorry for the long absence! The past few weeks have been very hectic--this week is my final exam week, so I've been spending my days doing the last of my school work and then working on projects, papers and exams. AND NOW I'M DONE!!! I have to turn in my compelte editing portfolio by this afternoon, and then all I have to do is graduate!

I made a big mistake recently. I wrote down that all my finals were on Tuesday (yesterday), but thought that they were all on Wednesday. When I actually looked in my book and saw that they were due a day earlier than I planned, I burnt myself out on getting them done in time.... only to discover that they were, in fact, due on Wednesday. Obviously I just wasn't paying attention to which box I was writing in, and so stressed myself out more than I needed to. On the one hand, I got my project and paper done early, but on the other, I didn't leave myself enough time to study for my ethnic studies exam. The biggest problem was that I didn't start work on any of these things early enough. I had some of my editing portfolio done (as a class assignment), but hadn't worked veey far ahead and so made this week really difficult for myself. I also didn't get a head start on my philosophy paper, or make enough time to study for my exam. So, after eleven years of exams, finals, and graded projects, I still haven't learned my lesson. Let this be a lesson to me for the future!

On the other hand, I've read a ton of books this semester in my spare time. The count as of right now is sixteen--not bad for a graduating senior with a full class load! I read Ken Follett's 973-page novel, The Pillars of the Earth, recommended to me by a dear friend, in under a week. I blazed through that book faster and with more hunger than any book for a long time--faster than some 300-page books I've been reading recently. It is definitely what I would call a character-driven book. The characters live and act and react exactly like living humans would in similar circumstances, and all the action, love, murder and fear in the book was created by the characters, not by plot. Often, plot drags characters around a world they have no desire to be in, through lives they would not actually live, and the characters lose their autonomy--the plot becomes more complex than the people. This book had a simple plot--it could be explained in one sentence, but it would not describe the story. The characters are what give this tale life and love and meaning, and they shape the plot with their lives. I felt like these people were truly alive, and their pain was my pain, their love my love. I would read this book a thousand more times!

It's been difficult to tear myself away from my books and my schoolwork, so I've barely started packing. I've devoted the rest of this week to getting my things in order, and this weekend to moving my storage stuff to my boyfriend's parents' house and my necessities slowly to his.

I promise I'll have more interesting things to write about soon!

~Monica

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