The start of a new (school) year.
I can still remember starting my University days an an older freshman (I was 23 if you can believe that) at Stephen F. Austin State University in 2006. Being in a classroom full of kids (yeah, so they were 17-19) was a sobering experience, as their immature behavior was a direct reflection of what I would have been like had I gone to University after graduating High School. I'm not gonna bullshit myself and say that I was a "mature" 18/19 year old, because I wasn't. In all likelihood I would have acted the same way as my younger classmates did (in and out of the classroom). Thankfully, one of the benefits of military service was that I acquired the maturity/discipline that I lacked when I was younger. That's not to say that I'm a completely "mature" individual, as maturation is a life-long process (as I've said once or twice before).
Now here I am, a 28 year old soon-to-be graduate who's ready to hit the ground running once I get that important piece of paper called a "degree." Life is just full of surprises isn't it? For one, I never would have imagined I would be getting my degree in Arizona of all places (I admit that I had my heart set on getting my education in Texas, but that didn't work out as I would've liked :S). Also, I never thought my first work destination would be Singapore (I had always had a return to South Korea in mind during my early years of school). There have been many more surprises during this time but that's for another post, at a future time....and I'm not feeling super cathartic at the moment.
I figured that my last full semester would be tough but wow.....this is not only my toughest but MOST IMPORTANT semester yet, as passing all of these classes ensures that I will graduate in August instead of December. It has only started but the amount of reading required to KEEP UP with all of my classes means that I'll need to make good use of every minute I'm not in class or work. Course, I need to schedule some time for my mental/physical upkeep....hiking, biking, jogging, exercise....I'll really need to super disciplined this year.
I guess I should talk a little bit about my classes yes? Well, there's my "History of the French Revolution" class which is somewhat reading-intensive, but requires several long analysis papers. I'm not hugely worried about this class, since I find History classes to be easy, but I can't slack off in my readings, as this particular Professor is EXTREMELY knowledgeable, and will spot bullshit/fluff papers with ease I believe. Then there is my Modern English Grammar class. I got a C in it previously (not bad considering I missed a ton of classes the semester I took it) but I want to retake it in order to bring my knowledge of the subject/GPA up. It isn't a particularly hard class, but it requires again...regular reading...and attendance hehe. Then there's my Senior seminar class which focuses on Psychopathology and its application to literature and film. This class is the most important one I'm taking, and the most demanding in terms of reading. The book list for this class is quite diverse, ranging from the Psychological/Philosophical writings of Hegel, Freud and Lacan, to the film/book versions of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Naked Lunch." I've studied under this Professor before and though I don't agree with his Left-leaning politics most of the time, he certainly knows his subject matter and has been one of my favorite instructors. Then there's my Literature and Film class that focuses on Stanley Kubrick. This class if quite fun, but will require weekly writings on the various Kubrick films that we'll be seeing throughout the semester. We've already started viewing films and I have a feeling the instructor intentionally shows us his early and rather....um...bad films in order to scare off some students O_O. There is a decent amount of reading to do in this class as well, but mostly on film terminology and Kubrick's influences/technique. Finally, there's my second most important class of the semester (and possibly the hardest), my Spanish class. This is a fourth semester class meaning this is the last foreign language class I'll need to take in order to fulfill the "foreign language" component of my graduation plan. It is an immersion class, meaning that Spanish will be spoken almost entirely during the semester (we can use English, but we need to ask permission first..and in Spanish -_-). This class will require me to study vigorously, since it has been about 2 years since I last took a Spanish class.
I don't know what else to say at the moment except that I will probably be highly stressed and busy during the next few months. I know no one else will push me to do well this semester, so I'm going to have to do my best to motivate myself.