Hi you guys
I'm finished with finals. I somehow made it through. But right now I am really angry, annoyed, bitter, sad, disappointed, and...sad.
I took my Spanish final on Monday. It was hard. But I expected that.
And then there was my Medieval art final. Which I started studying for 2 weeks ago. For which I memorized a ton of slides. For which I read over the book 3 times. For which I took notes on as if my life depended on it. For which final I showed up for 2 hours late.
Lame.
Goddamn idiotic that's what it was, and the minute I walked into the room my heart sank down into my stomach and I wanted to crawl outside in the really hot, humid rain, dig a really hot and humid hole and the hot and humid ground and rot there until the stench attracted dozens and millions of maggots and flies, and all manners of flesh eating insects who would not care how much Medieval art information I had contained within my by now rotted and mushy head. Because this was the final that could have made a difference, and that could have pushed my grade up from a b to and A and I just HAD to go blow it. Now THAT'S what a real college student is like.
So I got to take the final after all, but the teacher said that my grade on the final would be dropped by a letter grade. Which at the time I was just so grateful for that even if she had deigned to look at me after showing up an hour and a half late for her final I would have started to shout out random Gothic definitions at her. Just to show her that I did INDEED learn something from that class.
But aftewards I came back home and I thought "well, what the hell, I might as well TRY to get the grade I could have gotten on the test." The worst she can say is no. Right? Right. So here is the e-mail I sent her. Just in case anyone actually cares.
Dear Dr. Elina Gertsman and Paroma,
Hello, it's Adrianne. I would like to thank you both very,
very much for letting me take the final after the assigned
time. I guess I misheard the time, or just assumed that it
was at 3 today since that was when the final was for the
seniors and when the midterm was. It makes no sense at
all...and now makes even less sense when I remember that on
the way over to the final someone on the bus was telling me
what a funny time it was to have a final at 3. But I STILL
didn't make the connection then. So thank you again.
You both are probably waiting for the inevitable paragraph
now. I truly studied a lot for this test. I put most of my
effort into studying for that class this quarter. I started
reviewing for the test a little over 2 weeks ago, and had a
set schedule every day since then for review. These past
couple weeks while walking around campus buildings, I even
started to try to analyze them as if they were on the final.
I'm sure I still missed basic concepts on the final, but even
if the cathedrals and manuscripts I knew the most weren't on
the test and I didn't get to "show off" everything I learned,
I still took away a lot from the class. Anyone in the course
could say these things, but this is just a "shot in the dark"
to hope that maybe I wouldn't have to get marked down an
entire letter grade on my final.
If I could have taken that final at 8 AM this morning, I
would have. Sitting through the entire day running back and
forth from my slide packets to trying to get my mind off of
going crazy was one of the most nerve-wreacking activities I
had to perform, aside from sitting in the lounge waiting for
the verdict of what to do about my late final. I realize how
important punctuality is for you, Professor Gertsman, but I
can promise that this was the first and last time that I was
late to your class.
I really enjoyed taking this class. I didn't know what to
expect from it, since I didn't know much about Medieval art,
but I was pleasantly surprised. And thank you again for
letting me take the final. A grade on the final is better
than no grade at all, by far, and this e-mail might come off
as desperate, but I thought it was worth a try. It would
bother me even more than my tardiness to the test time does
now if I didn't try everything I could to maybe try to get
the score I could have gotten.
So thank you once again for the quarter and for the test, and
I hope you both enjoy your summer!
--Adrianne Gyorfi
Yeah. It sounds desperate. It sounds like I made all this up, but the best part about it was that I didn't make any of it up. And THIS is what she wrote back:
Adrianne,
I am very pleased that you enjoyed the course so much. I
very much enjoyed teaching it.
As for the test: we weren't supposed to let you take the
exam in the first place, but since it was an honest mistake
on your part, we decided to allow you to do so. However,
there is absolutely no chance that you will not be
penalized. I am a little stunned, quite frankly, that you
even asked. Paroma spent an hour and a half of her time in
the department in order to administer this test. I suggest
you thank her and take the grade reduction graciously -- and
with gratitude.
Best,
Elina
Elina Gertsman
Quite STUNNED? "God, I am SO STUNNED that you'd even DARE to ask that." Yes, I went out on a limb, but, as I said, it was a shot in the dark, and I studied SO MUCH FOR THAT TEST. I WROTE THAT DAMN EMAIL TO BOTH HER AN PAROMA. I LEFT THAT FINAL BAWLING WITH GRATITUDE TO THEM AND WITH FRUSTRATION WITH MYSELF THAT I CAN BE SUCH A MORON WHEN I'M A "COLLEGE STUDENT." And that's the tone she's using? Yes, I am taking that grade reduction graciously. I am just dripping with graciousness now.
But at least I can live with myself now that I know that I tried everything afterwards.
A word of advice to people taking finals: go to your classroom at 7 AM the day of the final and just sit there. No. Spend the NIGHT there because you never know when the final time is going to change.
I took my Spanish final on Monday. It was hard. But I expected that.
And then there was my Medieval art final. Which I started studying for 2 weeks ago. For which I memorized a ton of slides. For which I read over the book 3 times. For which I took notes on as if my life depended on it. For which final I showed up for 2 hours late.
Lame.
Goddamn idiotic that's what it was, and the minute I walked into the room my heart sank down into my stomach and I wanted to crawl outside in the really hot, humid rain, dig a really hot and humid hole and the hot and humid ground and rot there until the stench attracted dozens and millions of maggots and flies, and all manners of flesh eating insects who would not care how much Medieval art information I had contained within my by now rotted and mushy head. Because this was the final that could have made a difference, and that could have pushed my grade up from a b to and A and I just HAD to go blow it. Now THAT'S what a real college student is like.
So I got to take the final after all, but the teacher said that my grade on the final would be dropped by a letter grade. Which at the time I was just so grateful for that even if she had deigned to look at me after showing up an hour and a half late for her final I would have started to shout out random Gothic definitions at her. Just to show her that I did INDEED learn something from that class.
But aftewards I came back home and I thought "well, what the hell, I might as well TRY to get the grade I could have gotten on the test." The worst she can say is no. Right? Right. So here is the e-mail I sent her. Just in case anyone actually cares.
Dear Dr. Elina Gertsman and Paroma,
Hello, it's Adrianne. I would like to thank you both very,
very much for letting me take the final after the assigned
time. I guess I misheard the time, or just assumed that it
was at 3 today since that was when the final was for the
seniors and when the midterm was. It makes no sense at
all...and now makes even less sense when I remember that on
the way over to the final someone on the bus was telling me
what a funny time it was to have a final at 3. But I STILL
didn't make the connection then. So thank you again.
You both are probably waiting for the inevitable paragraph
now. I truly studied a lot for this test. I put most of my
effort into studying for that class this quarter. I started
reviewing for the test a little over 2 weeks ago, and had a
set schedule every day since then for review. These past
couple weeks while walking around campus buildings, I even
started to try to analyze them as if they were on the final.
I'm sure I still missed basic concepts on the final, but even
if the cathedrals and manuscripts I knew the most weren't on
the test and I didn't get to "show off" everything I learned,
I still took away a lot from the class. Anyone in the course
could say these things, but this is just a "shot in the dark"
to hope that maybe I wouldn't have to get marked down an
entire letter grade on my final.
If I could have taken that final at 8 AM this morning, I
would have. Sitting through the entire day running back and
forth from my slide packets to trying to get my mind off of
going crazy was one of the most nerve-wreacking activities I
had to perform, aside from sitting in the lounge waiting for
the verdict of what to do about my late final. I realize how
important punctuality is for you, Professor Gertsman, but I
can promise that this was the first and last time that I was
late to your class.
I really enjoyed taking this class. I didn't know what to
expect from it, since I didn't know much about Medieval art,
but I was pleasantly surprised. And thank you again for
letting me take the final. A grade on the final is better
than no grade at all, by far, and this e-mail might come off
as desperate, but I thought it was worth a try. It would
bother me even more than my tardiness to the test time does
now if I didn't try everything I could to maybe try to get
the score I could have gotten.
So thank you once again for the quarter and for the test, and
I hope you both enjoy your summer!
--Adrianne Gyorfi
Yeah. It sounds desperate. It sounds like I made all this up, but the best part about it was that I didn't make any of it up. And THIS is what she wrote back:
Adrianne,
I am very pleased that you enjoyed the course so much. I
very much enjoyed teaching it.
As for the test: we weren't supposed to let you take the
exam in the first place, but since it was an honest mistake
on your part, we decided to allow you to do so. However,
there is absolutely no chance that you will not be
penalized. I am a little stunned, quite frankly, that you
even asked. Paroma spent an hour and a half of her time in
the department in order to administer this test. I suggest
you thank her and take the grade reduction graciously -- and
with gratitude.
Best,
Elina
Elina Gertsman
Quite STUNNED? "God, I am SO STUNNED that you'd even DARE to ask that." Yes, I went out on a limb, but, as I said, it was a shot in the dark, and I studied SO MUCH FOR THAT TEST. I WROTE THAT DAMN EMAIL TO BOTH HER AN PAROMA. I LEFT THAT FINAL BAWLING WITH GRATITUDE TO THEM AND WITH FRUSTRATION WITH MYSELF THAT I CAN BE SUCH A MORON WHEN I'M A "COLLEGE STUDENT." And that's the tone she's using? Yes, I am taking that grade reduction graciously. I am just dripping with graciousness now.
But at least I can live with myself now that I know that I tried everything afterwards.
A word of advice to people taking finals: go to your classroom at 7 AM the day of the final and just sit there. No. Spend the NIGHT there because you never know when the final time is going to change.