Wow, OK. So. The word is...and of course we'll see if said word is right or not...that I might actually get some more readers on this blog. Such as...maybe the kind of people it's aimed at, as opposed to family and friends. See, this week I contributed to an e-newsletter that UM's Admissions department sends out to loads and loads of prospective students, parents, counselors, etc. And when I say contributed to, I mean wrote. Included in the newsletter are two links to my blog. So...as I said I'll believe it when I see it, but at the very least it's getting some more exposure.
In honor of this, I've been asked to write a blog post that speaks to the topic of and kind of works in concert with the newsletter. So, I'm going to try to do so today. The topic was the importance of location in choosing a college. Those of you who have been reading my blog might want to skip this post, as it will probably seem repetitive.
As you may know, UM is not the first stop on my collegiate journey. I graduated from high school in 2004 and this is my fifth semester of college, so do the math. When I was first considering colleges, I looked at a lot of different things to make my decision, but location really wasn't one of them. I was of the camp that would suggest that a school's location is completely secondary to its academic reputation, class size, strength of programs, facilities, etc. My mother was (and still is to some extent) actually of the opinion that the college visit is a monumental waste of time. After visiting a bunch of schools the summer before my senior year, I agreed with her. I really didn't pick anything up then that I hadn't already judged from reading about the schools.
By a long shot, my top choice ended up being Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Now, almost four years later, the reasons behind the decision are kind of foggy to me. All I know is I fell in love with the school. Questions were asked, of course. "Isn't it really cold up there?" "Can you handle living in as small a town as Middletown?" Well, I had never really been bothered by the cold and expected to spend the majority of my time on campus anyway, so these questions didn't bother me whatsoever. I applied early decision and was accepted.
To make a long (and painful to recollect for me) story short, my time at Wesleyan was a disaster. Along with many personal issues that I won't go into, I hated Connecticut, and I hated Middletown. Sure, I'd never been bothered by the cold before. I'd never experienced real cold before. Not to mention the fact that in Middletown it's a rare event to see the sun between November and February. And people were right, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, to do in Middletown. I was absolutely miserable. I stayed for three lackluster semesters before taking an "extended leave of absence." That's a nice term for dropping out.
Cut to this past summer. After a period spent working horrifically dull jobs, I decided it was time to give the college thing a second try. This time, location was a large consideration. My list of important things went pretty much like this: 1. Nice weather, 2. Near a city. The school that seemed to best fit the bill was UM. And despite my poor college record, I got in. So here I am. Now, there are good things and bad things about any school. But let me tell you, the location of UM really could not be better. To wake up every morning in January and not have to put on boots, or a coat, or any of that stuff is a gift. I mean, during the cold part of the year, it's in the high 50's in the morning. It was rare to ever see high 50's during the winter in Connecticut. And Miami, needless to say, has plenty to offer.
The moral of the story? Take location into consideration. Take it from me, please, don't make the same mistake I did. Visit the schools you are thinking about. More importantly, visit them in the winter. If a school seems like a good fit in November or January, most likely it will be an even better fit in September and April.
OK, that's about it for this post. Later.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Settling Back In
Or at least I'm starting to. Things aren't feeling quite as daunting or impossible as they did the first couple of weeks. That's not to say I think it's going to be an easy semester by any means, but I'm not quite as freaked out. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.
Good news today (I needed some). Because the state of the syllabus in one of my classes has been in constant flux thus far, and is now finally seeming to come to rest, I have inadvertently finished all of the reading for this week. So that gives me a little less work, which of course is pretty much a good thing.
For the first time since I got back it was cool enough to wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt today. Barely. It was about 55 when I got up, it's up in the 70's now. So I was comfortable this morning and am now starting to roast, but...it's a give and take, like everything. At least I get to expand my wardrobe a little bit. Always one of my biggest concerns.
What else, what else?
Finished my first novel of the semester in one of my classes. Heart of Darkness. Shockingly, I'd never read it before. I tried once after the first time I saw Apocalypse Now, but I think I was about 15 at that point, and I was bored to tears long before Marlow even got to Africa. Very interesting book, though. It would have gone completely over my head if I'd read it then. Too dense. Probably wouldn't have caught any of what actually makes the novel interesting. I probably would have followed the basic plot okay, especially knowing that it was quite similar to that of Coppola's film, but...I mean...who reads Heart of Darkness for the plot? However, one of the interesting things is that although we have not once mentioned Apocalypse Now in our discussions, these discussions have definitely affected my thoughts on the film. The criticism leveled at Conrad that his novel is inherently racist, portraying the Africans as non-humans, could be extended to Coppola's portrayal of the Vietnamese. It's possible, of course, that this parallel was intentional. I'd guess unlikely, though, considering the fraught conditions of the shoot pretty much led to an accidental masterpiece. As many hardships as he had to overcome, it's a miracle that Coppola even made a film, much less the brilliant piece of work that is Apocalypse Now. Where was I? Oh who cares. I need to go back and watch that again. I think I brought it down with me. It's really long, though, so I'll need to set aside some time. I just finished Das Boot, so I might need to wait a while before I assail another film of such length. (I mean, 3 and a half hours? Really? Das Boot is a fascinating film, but man...that's a long time to spend in a submarine).
OK, I've rambled enough. I don't even remember where I started at this point. I'll talk to ya'll again sometime in the near future.
Good news today (I needed some). Because the state of the syllabus in one of my classes has been in constant flux thus far, and is now finally seeming to come to rest, I have inadvertently finished all of the reading for this week. So that gives me a little less work, which of course is pretty much a good thing.
For the first time since I got back it was cool enough to wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt today. Barely. It was about 55 when I got up, it's up in the 70's now. So I was comfortable this morning and am now starting to roast, but...it's a give and take, like everything. At least I get to expand my wardrobe a little bit. Always one of my biggest concerns.
What else, what else?
Finished my first novel of the semester in one of my classes. Heart of Darkness. Shockingly, I'd never read it before. I tried once after the first time I saw Apocalypse Now, but I think I was about 15 at that point, and I was bored to tears long before Marlow even got to Africa. Very interesting book, though. It would have gone completely over my head if I'd read it then. Too dense. Probably wouldn't have caught any of what actually makes the novel interesting. I probably would have followed the basic plot okay, especially knowing that it was quite similar to that of Coppola's film, but...I mean...who reads Heart of Darkness for the plot? However, one of the interesting things is that although we have not once mentioned Apocalypse Now in our discussions, these discussions have definitely affected my thoughts on the film. The criticism leveled at Conrad that his novel is inherently racist, portraying the Africans as non-humans, could be extended to Coppola's portrayal of the Vietnamese. It's possible, of course, that this parallel was intentional. I'd guess unlikely, though, considering the fraught conditions of the shoot pretty much led to an accidental masterpiece. As many hardships as he had to overcome, it's a miracle that Coppola even made a film, much less the brilliant piece of work that is Apocalypse Now. Where was I? Oh who cares. I need to go back and watch that again. I think I brought it down with me. It's really long, though, so I'll need to set aside some time. I just finished Das Boot, so I might need to wait a while before I assail another film of such length. (I mean, 3 and a half hours? Really? Das Boot is a fascinating film, but man...that's a long time to spend in a submarine).
OK, I've rambled enough. I don't even remember where I started at this point. I'll talk to ya'll again sometime in the near future.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Friday
And I am ever so glad it is. I'm feeling a bit rundown at the moment. That concerns me a little, I'll admit, seeing as I'm only two weeks in, but my hope is that things will get better as I get accustomed to my new schedule as opposed to worse as more and more weeks of work pile on my back. We shall see. I'll keep you posted.
You see, those who know me will not be surprised when I say this is essentially the first semester when I've ever had to "work" at school. I mean, high school I just breezed through, did the minimum I could to succeed. The first go at college I didn't work hard at all, for obvious reasons. Last semester I worked a little, but I mean really only two of my classes required any work at all. This semester the number has doubled, and the workload has pretty much doubled as well, as I've mentioned in other posts.
The hope, because if this isn't the case I may be headed for disaster, is that my current state of exhaustion is a result of the newness of actually working, actually exercising my brain for any prolonged periods of time. I mean, I worked hard at my jobs during my hiatus, but I mean, it didn't actually require much (read: any whatsoever) use of my mind. It's funny, physically I feel in good form. My body is ready to go...I think the walking to and from class every day has kept me in reasonably good shape. It's my brain that has atrophied a little in recent years. Just like exercising a muscle for the first time in a while can be very painful, I think that actually thinking for most of the day, every day, is driving me into the ground right now. Hopefully, as my brain gets stronger, things will get easier.
That's the story I'm sticking with, because I think positive thinking will make me more likely to follow the golden path, and pessimism will point me towards doom. So, I'll repeat: I really think things will get easier as I get used to the increased workload. I have no doubts whatsoever. I'm utterly confident of my ability to do this.
Not lies, by any stretch of the imagination...but not whole truths either I guess. Working on it. Optimism doesn't come naturally to me. Until next time...
You see, those who know me will not be surprised when I say this is essentially the first semester when I've ever had to "work" at school. I mean, high school I just breezed through, did the minimum I could to succeed. The first go at college I didn't work hard at all, for obvious reasons. Last semester I worked a little, but I mean really only two of my classes required any work at all. This semester the number has doubled, and the workload has pretty much doubled as well, as I've mentioned in other posts.
The hope, because if this isn't the case I may be headed for disaster, is that my current state of exhaustion is a result of the newness of actually working, actually exercising my brain for any prolonged periods of time. I mean, I worked hard at my jobs during my hiatus, but I mean, it didn't actually require much (read: any whatsoever) use of my mind. It's funny, physically I feel in good form. My body is ready to go...I think the walking to and from class every day has kept me in reasonably good shape. It's my brain that has atrophied a little in recent years. Just like exercising a muscle for the first time in a while can be very painful, I think that actually thinking for most of the day, every day, is driving me into the ground right now. Hopefully, as my brain gets stronger, things will get easier.
That's the story I'm sticking with, because I think positive thinking will make me more likely to follow the golden path, and pessimism will point me towards doom. So, I'll repeat: I really think things will get easier as I get used to the increased workload. I have no doubts whatsoever. I'm utterly confident of my ability to do this.
Not lies, by any stretch of the imagination...but not whole truths either I guess. Working on it. Optimism doesn't come naturally to me. Until next time...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Week 2
Well, now things have settled in a bit. The first week is always hard, because you have to get back in the habit and rhythm of going to class, studying, working, all the stuff that I did little to none of over the Winter Break. The second week's one of the easier weeks, I think. You're back in the swing of things, but it's still to early for tests and major papers. It's kind of a grace period. It won't last too long, of course, but things won't get really bad until just before Spring Break. Then I'll have another respite and things will kick back up just before Finals. It's the nature of the system, I guess.
Of course, that's not to say I'm not busy. Class and work keep me busy from the time I wake up until 5pm or so. Every day. Last semester at least I had early days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But you know, I shouldn't complain. Everything is a give and take. Last semester I had classes at 9:00 and 9:30 on MWF and TTh, respectively. This semester it's 10:10 and 11:00. And mornings are not a productive time for me, so all in all I guess I traded up. It just doesn't feel like it at 4:30 in the afternoon.
If this sounds overly gloomy, I repeat that this is how I feel at 4:30 in the afternoon, at the end of my day. I'm tired, and I'm ready to go home and crash. I can't do that, of course, but I think it's natural to start feeling that way in the late afternoon. There was that brilliant Super Bowl commercial last year about Robert Goulet coming in and confusing everyone by rearranging their stuff at 3:00 every workday, unless of course a person ate whatever snack was being advertised. It became a running joke at my last job that at about 3:00 every afternoon, everybody had to go to the company store for a snack to stave off Goulet. So I don't think my feelings right now are anything unusual. I think I'd be more unusual if I didn't feel rundown at the end of the day. And, as I said, the important thing is that the schedule change allows me to be, well, awake during all of my classes. Last semester I was the most engaged I'd ever been in my classes, and so far this semester, the sleeping-late thing is allowing me to be yet more engaged.
I mean, I even got back to my conversation-dominating habits in a morning class last week. I mean, it's not unusual for me to monopolize discussion time in an English class at all, but it is highly unusual for me to do it before noon. It was fun, we were discussing what makes a novel a novel, and I spent the whole period arguing against every constraint that anyone else tried to put on the form. Now, that might sound like I was being intentionally contrary or argumentative or annoying, but it really wasn't like that. I honestly believe in very, very few constraints on the definition of "novel" and my opposing view allowed for better discussion than the traditional one person suggests a characteristic of a novel and it's written on the board without discussion framework.
All in all, I think it's been a productive first six days of class, and that's really all you can ask for.
Of course, that's not to say I'm not busy. Class and work keep me busy from the time I wake up until 5pm or so. Every day. Last semester at least I had early days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But you know, I shouldn't complain. Everything is a give and take. Last semester I had classes at 9:00 and 9:30 on MWF and TTh, respectively. This semester it's 10:10 and 11:00. And mornings are not a productive time for me, so all in all I guess I traded up. It just doesn't feel like it at 4:30 in the afternoon.
If this sounds overly gloomy, I repeat that this is how I feel at 4:30 in the afternoon, at the end of my day. I'm tired, and I'm ready to go home and crash. I can't do that, of course, but I think it's natural to start feeling that way in the late afternoon. There was that brilliant Super Bowl commercial last year about Robert Goulet coming in and confusing everyone by rearranging their stuff at 3:00 every workday, unless of course a person ate whatever snack was being advertised. It became a running joke at my last job that at about 3:00 every afternoon, everybody had to go to the company store for a snack to stave off Goulet. So I don't think my feelings right now are anything unusual. I think I'd be more unusual if I didn't feel rundown at the end of the day. And, as I said, the important thing is that the schedule change allows me to be, well, awake during all of my classes. Last semester I was the most engaged I'd ever been in my classes, and so far this semester, the sleeping-late thing is allowing me to be yet more engaged.
I mean, I even got back to my conversation-dominating habits in a morning class last week. I mean, it's not unusual for me to monopolize discussion time in an English class at all, but it is highly unusual for me to do it before noon. It was fun, we were discussing what makes a novel a novel, and I spent the whole period arguing against every constraint that anyone else tried to put on the form. Now, that might sound like I was being intentionally contrary or argumentative or annoying, but it really wasn't like that. I honestly believe in very, very few constraints on the definition of "novel" and my opposing view allowed for better discussion than the traditional one person suggests a characteristic of a novel and it's written on the board without discussion framework.
All in all, I think it's been a productive first six days of class, and that's really all you can ask for.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Three Days Down...
...And I'm not even going to think about how many to go. You know, that sounded pessimistic and unhappy, and that's not how I feel right now at all. Miraculously, I still feel motivated, so barring a last minute shift, those of you who bet on the over on Monday are looking good.
So far, my classes are looking good. I must admit, after the lecture today, I'm a little concerned about my Zoology course, as I'm pretty much convinced our teacher thought we were fifth-graders today...fifty minutes of "What is Science?", "What is the Scientific Method?", and "What Different Kinds of Animals Do You Know About?" is enough to drive a sane man mad. Fortunately, that happened to me years ago, so I'm safe. Or at least, I'm beyond help. Never sure which.
All of that being said, I guess I'm just getting what I deserve. All I asked for was an easy science class to finish off my gen-ed requirements, and it's looking like I'm getting exactly that. I'm sure (false confidence) it'll get more interesting as we get into the meat of the topic, though. My Tuesday/Thursday classes are really still for the large part unknowns to me. Judging a class from the first session is virtually impossible. My history teacher and my French teacher both seem cool...I was a little concerned about my French after about two and a half years without speaking or writing in the language for any significant period, but after hearing others talk in class and finishing our first homework assignment, I think I should be OK. As in, I wanted to throw the workbook out the window because it was so easy and tedious. Conjugations of verbs in the present tense? Really? At the intermediate level? Once more, I'm sure (false confidence) this class will get more interesting and difficult as we get into the meat of the semester.
All in all, things are still going great. That last sentence was for the benefit of my parents, who I know read my blog, but it's also true. The one potential snag I see so far is that I have about twice (no exaggeration) as much homework this semester as I had in the fall. In the fall, essentially I had to do significant amounts of homework for 2 of 5 classes. This semester it's 4 of 5. See, I'm not that bad at math, I know 40% is half of 80%. So wish me luck. Until next time, wear your seatbelts.
So far, my classes are looking good. I must admit, after the lecture today, I'm a little concerned about my Zoology course, as I'm pretty much convinced our teacher thought we were fifth-graders today...fifty minutes of "What is Science?", "What is the Scientific Method?", and "What Different Kinds of Animals Do You Know About?" is enough to drive a sane man mad. Fortunately, that happened to me years ago, so I'm safe. Or at least, I'm beyond help. Never sure which.
All of that being said, I guess I'm just getting what I deserve. All I asked for was an easy science class to finish off my gen-ed requirements, and it's looking like I'm getting exactly that. I'm sure (false confidence) it'll get more interesting as we get into the meat of the topic, though. My Tuesday/Thursday classes are really still for the large part unknowns to me. Judging a class from the first session is virtually impossible. My history teacher and my French teacher both seem cool...I was a little concerned about my French after about two and a half years without speaking or writing in the language for any significant period, but after hearing others talk in class and finishing our first homework assignment, I think I should be OK. As in, I wanted to throw the workbook out the window because it was so easy and tedious. Conjugations of verbs in the present tense? Really? At the intermediate level? Once more, I'm sure (false confidence) this class will get more interesting and difficult as we get into the meat of the semester.
All in all, things are still going great. That last sentence was for the benefit of my parents, who I know read my blog, but it's also true. The one potential snag I see so far is that I have about twice (no exaggeration) as much homework this semester as I had in the fall. In the fall, essentially I had to do significant amounts of homework for 2 of 5 classes. This semester it's 4 of 5. See, I'm not that bad at math, I know 40% is half of 80%. So wish me luck. Until next time, wear your seatbelts.
Monday, January 14, 2008
A New Semester
Welcome back, friends, one and all...I hope you haven't missed me too much during my month-long hiatus. Well, never fear, I'm back. Back in Coral Gables, back living on my own, back in school, back at work, and back on my blog. Winter break is such a weird thing. It's just a four-week pressing of the pause button. I feel like I have accomplished absolutely nothing since I left back in mid-December. Funny thing is, I don't even feel that rested. I just feel like I finished last semester yesterday, and today I'm starting a new semester, but there was a huge chasm in between in which no time passed and...OK, now I'm sounding like a crazy person. Let's see, what's a better way to put it? It feels like I just passed an extremely long intermission. That makes more sense. It's as if all I really did for the last month was wait for it to end, wait for my life to start again. Well, now it has.
That being said, despite not feeling rested, I do feel reenergized. I'm ready to seize the day, take the bull by the horns, live life to the fullest, and whatever other clichés you can think of. Of course, it'll be interesting to see how long that feeling lasts. I put the over/under at three days. If I'm really lucky it'll last the week.
I must say, however, I am genuinely excited about this semester. I've got some classes I'm actually looking forward to taking for once. My two English courses have an average of nine students in each, so maybe we'll actually be able to have some worthwhile discussions. Also, and maybe most importantly, neither one includes any in-class exams. If you've read any of my posts from last semester, you know how I feel about in-class English exams. Take-home essays make up the major grades in both classes, as they should. I'm less sure about my third class, an Intro to Zoology course I'm taking to (finally) finish my gen-ed requirements. At the least, it should be relatively easy. Thankfully, it shouldn't include much reading, which is crucial for a class on the same day as my two lit courses. Those two will have more than enough reading for the three.
Also, the hope is that I will increase my extracurricular activity load this semester. As in, I hope to do more than the class, work, movies, repeat cycle of last semester. Now, I'm not expecting any miracles here, I'm just hoping to go to some concerts, maybe an on-campus event or two, that sort of thing. Baby steps.
OK, I guess I'll sign off for now. Have a good week.
That being said, despite not feeling rested, I do feel reenergized. I'm ready to seize the day, take the bull by the horns, live life to the fullest, and whatever other clichés you can think of. Of course, it'll be interesting to see how long that feeling lasts. I put the over/under at three days. If I'm really lucky it'll last the week.
I must say, however, I am genuinely excited about this semester. I've got some classes I'm actually looking forward to taking for once. My two English courses have an average of nine students in each, so maybe we'll actually be able to have some worthwhile discussions. Also, and maybe most importantly, neither one includes any in-class exams. If you've read any of my posts from last semester, you know how I feel about in-class English exams. Take-home essays make up the major grades in both classes, as they should. I'm less sure about my third class, an Intro to Zoology course I'm taking to (finally) finish my gen-ed requirements. At the least, it should be relatively easy. Thankfully, it shouldn't include much reading, which is crucial for a class on the same day as my two lit courses. Those two will have more than enough reading for the three.
Also, the hope is that I will increase my extracurricular activity load this semester. As in, I hope to do more than the class, work, movies, repeat cycle of last semester. Now, I'm not expecting any miracles here, I'm just hoping to go to some concerts, maybe an on-campus event or two, that sort of thing. Baby steps.
OK, I guess I'll sign off for now. Have a good week.
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