Everything Rolled into One
Christmas Break this year has given me something I haven't experienced in quite some time now: absolutely no obligations. I've occupied myself doing a variety of things, most of which have occurred directly in front of that lovely little investment we call a computer. I set up a little station for myself, in fact, so I could play video games and sit online at the same time.
And I have to say that although I've worked year-round and had school concurrently plenty of times in the past few years, I was abnormally exhausted after this semester. I don't know how I would have survived had I gone with my original plan of working at the Troy Kinko's throughout break. I guess it was just a really rough semester, though I'm very thankful to have come out on top academically. I think I'm more proud of my 4.0 in math than I have been any other grade in my entire life.
On the heels of a semester with relatively little part-time work, I've gotten to wondering just how necessary work is for a college student. I've known plenty of people in my classes who haven't had jobs, but I haven't really kept inventory of who's being funded completely by his/her parents and who's incurring all kinds of student debt. In thinking about it, going into debt doesn't seem like such a horrible thing. If I'm able to concentrate on my classes and give them complete priority, I think I'll be in a much position overall in the long run. I just know that there's no dirtier feeling to me than working away eight hours of my day when I have a test the next morning.
I never really provided on update on the previous Kinko's situation, I realized, so I'll provide a short one. After Dennis's angry rant and my two week notice, I actually received a call from him in which he rescinded his position and offered an apology, assuring me that "if [he] were a college student, [he] would be doing the same thing." I wasn't completely confident it was the right decision, but I accepted his apology (and subsequent reassurance that he'd be more flexible) and continued on at Kinko's for a while. A couple days ago, though, I came to my senses, called Dennis from my house, and let him know I wouldn't be returning to Kinko's for the Spring Semester. I have a heavier course load coming up, after all, and despite him moving me to a 15-hour-per-week schedule upon my transfer to Okemos, the job made me miserable.
That a constructive academic experience is much more important than some temporary part-time job, I have never questioned; I guess a part of me still feels it's possible to balance the two, but after last semester, that part of me is dying a gruesome and welcome death. I only had thirteen credits, but I've never had to work so hard to stay on top of my classes. I may well pursue some kind of part-time, on-campus employment, but it'll be nothing I take too seriously, and it won't be any more than ten to fifteen hours a week.
In other news, I realized today that for the first time in a few years--ever since I first became interested in philosophy--I can confidently call myself an atheist. I maintain that it's near impossible to be intellectually sure of anything, but the way I understand things has changed a bit and allowed for some conviction. The entire way I understand the universe kind of fits together in some comfortable fashion to the point where I can honestly say I believe it operates a certain way. I'm still spiritual and quite superstitious, but I've lost my stubborn sense of ambivalence about things and gained a faith in a kind of harmonious flow of life. I guess it's a kind of very atheistic buddhism.
In any case, I don't have much else to say right now, so I'll cut this off. I hope to update a bit more often in the near future, but I have a way of completely ignoring my journal. We'll see what happens.
Oh, and in case I forget, happy new year!
And I have to say that although I've worked year-round and had school concurrently plenty of times in the past few years, I was abnormally exhausted after this semester. I don't know how I would have survived had I gone with my original plan of working at the Troy Kinko's throughout break. I guess it was just a really rough semester, though I'm very thankful to have come out on top academically. I think I'm more proud of my 4.0 in math than I have been any other grade in my entire life.
On the heels of a semester with relatively little part-time work, I've gotten to wondering just how necessary work is for a college student. I've known plenty of people in my classes who haven't had jobs, but I haven't really kept inventory of who's being funded completely by his/her parents and who's incurring all kinds of student debt. In thinking about it, going into debt doesn't seem like such a horrible thing. If I'm able to concentrate on my classes and give them complete priority, I think I'll be in a much position overall in the long run. I just know that there's no dirtier feeling to me than working away eight hours of my day when I have a test the next morning.
I never really provided on update on the previous Kinko's situation, I realized, so I'll provide a short one. After Dennis's angry rant and my two week notice, I actually received a call from him in which he rescinded his position and offered an apology, assuring me that "if [he] were a college student, [he] would be doing the same thing." I wasn't completely confident it was the right decision, but I accepted his apology (and subsequent reassurance that he'd be more flexible) and continued on at Kinko's for a while. A couple days ago, though, I came to my senses, called Dennis from my house, and let him know I wouldn't be returning to Kinko's for the Spring Semester. I have a heavier course load coming up, after all, and despite him moving me to a 15-hour-per-week schedule upon my transfer to Okemos, the job made me miserable.
That a constructive academic experience is much more important than some temporary part-time job, I have never questioned; I guess a part of me still feels it's possible to balance the two, but after last semester, that part of me is dying a gruesome and welcome death. I only had thirteen credits, but I've never had to work so hard to stay on top of my classes. I may well pursue some kind of part-time, on-campus employment, but it'll be nothing I take too seriously, and it won't be any more than ten to fifteen hours a week.
In other news, I realized today that for the first time in a few years--ever since I first became interested in philosophy--I can confidently call myself an atheist. I maintain that it's near impossible to be intellectually sure of anything, but the way I understand things has changed a bit and allowed for some conviction. The entire way I understand the universe kind of fits together in some comfortable fashion to the point where I can honestly say I believe it operates a certain way. I'm still spiritual and quite superstitious, but I've lost my stubborn sense of ambivalence about things and gained a faith in a kind of harmonious flow of life. I guess it's a kind of very atheistic buddhism.
In any case, I don't have much else to say right now, so I'll cut this off. I hope to update a bit more often in the near future, but I have a way of completely ignoring my journal. We'll see what happens.
Oh, and in case I forget, happy new year!