I wander'd off by myself..
I've been productive these past two days.
Of course, I say that now that I've had a two-hour nap which stemmed from trying to read a chunk of my environmental lit book. Don't get me wrong-- the class itself has been relatively fascinating and I've really gotten into a few of the selections thus far. But this is some Godly nonsense about the Puritans and I think Dr. Barney is just making a Romanticist point with it all, which is cool by me. I just don't think that my brain wants to read it, judging how everytime I pick up the packet my eyelids seal shut. Ah, c'est la vie. Read this poem she gave us; its my new favorite Whitman.
When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mysitcal moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
Anyway. AcaDec memories, boys? And that's not to say I don't like my astronomy course either-- the fact that I knew what an AU has basically put me somewhere near the head of the class. No, I'm liking college a lot. I'm getting challenged and I need that, and the fact that I weaseled my way into mostly 3300 classes makes me feel that its alright to admit I need to study. So, in short, I am studying, folks. I am really studying.
People-wise.. it's getting better. The late nights are always fun, but you can't confuse the friends you make sitting on the hood of a pick-up with the friends who you can be with on a day-to-day basis. I'm not afraid to sit places by myself and I tend to prefer it at times, but now enough people know my name and wave or give me a hug that it's not even much as far as isolation goes. And I have to admit, I'm happy about that. As far as boys go, my tastes are royally confusing. Abbey -- who I've really grown close to -- cannot seem to understand why I don't pursue any of them outside of the night and I can't really explain why. There is one that I feel a little pull to, but he's too well-dressed and too wealthy and too.. something for me. I always get that sense, no matter who the guy, that I'm not the best they can do and I know I have this wandering mind that wants to be left alone one moment then passionately adored the next; so, yeah. I'm admittedly difficult. That and since I was in second grade I've had this strange pull to the quiet brilliant kid in the corner of the room, and I have no idea where to go with that. Subtle intelligence is so much harder to deal with than boys who just think you're cute. Those boys are fun, though, so I guess I'll just be content with them for awhile.
But so good things I've done in the past two days: (1) Straightened out all of my financial aid business and I'm paid up for the school year. (2) Set aside several hundred dollars for the trip to Ireland over Christmas and paid off the rest of the tour fees. (3) Talked to my academic advisor and decided on my concentration! I AM in the biology department. Dr. Sternes was amazing and I feel a definite bond with him. He's the first person here who honestly looked and listened to what I've done and showed that I'd left some sort of impression. He's delighted I want to travel and that I'm aiming for some vague amount of trilingual-graspage with the French. So to appease the SALE scholarship board and to increase my marketability down the road, as a writer or otherwise, I'm going to use Biology as my concentration instead of Humanities. Next semester I'll be in zoology and herpetology and all sorts of stuff that's techincal, but interesting. Hopefully. And, (4) On my way to Fort Davis, I stopped at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute and I'm going to start volunteering in a few weeks and then, possibly next month, start a few-days-a-month desk job at the store and offices. I took a small walking tour and the place is flat-out breathtaking. Can I go ahead and re-insert that the weather here is beyond amazing? So, same field of interest, new direction!
Branching out and going to a theatre club meeting / reading tonight, before and after my Latin Art class. I doubt I'm going to read for any part in the plays, though I checked them out-- I don't know where to start with either a French or Spanish accent, and both are required for either play. But it'll be a different set of people (odd ones, which is cool) and who knows? I could love it. This is me being independantly social!
My dad sent me a really cool letter today with one of my favorite church hymns -- "On Eagle's Wings" -- and a picture of this weird-looking bald eagle on a swing. (It makes sense if you've heard the song.) Anyway, it was funny. :) I miss him.
Of course, I say that now that I've had a two-hour nap which stemmed from trying to read a chunk of my environmental lit book. Don't get me wrong-- the class itself has been relatively fascinating and I've really gotten into a few of the selections thus far. But this is some Godly nonsense about the Puritans and I think Dr. Barney is just making a Romanticist point with it all, which is cool by me. I just don't think that my brain wants to read it, judging how everytime I pick up the packet my eyelids seal shut. Ah, c'est la vie. Read this poem she gave us; its my new favorite Whitman.
When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mysitcal moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
Anyway. AcaDec memories, boys? And that's not to say I don't like my astronomy course either-- the fact that I knew what an AU has basically put me somewhere near the head of the class. No, I'm liking college a lot. I'm getting challenged and I need that, and the fact that I weaseled my way into mostly 3300 classes makes me feel that its alright to admit I need to study. So, in short, I am studying, folks. I am really studying.
People-wise.. it's getting better. The late nights are always fun, but you can't confuse the friends you make sitting on the hood of a pick-up with the friends who you can be with on a day-to-day basis. I'm not afraid to sit places by myself and I tend to prefer it at times, but now enough people know my name and wave or give me a hug that it's not even much as far as isolation goes. And I have to admit, I'm happy about that. As far as boys go, my tastes are royally confusing. Abbey -- who I've really grown close to -- cannot seem to understand why I don't pursue any of them outside of the night and I can't really explain why. There is one that I feel a little pull to, but he's too well-dressed and too wealthy and too.. something for me. I always get that sense, no matter who the guy, that I'm not the best they can do and I know I have this wandering mind that wants to be left alone one moment then passionately adored the next; so, yeah. I'm admittedly difficult. That and since I was in second grade I've had this strange pull to the quiet brilliant kid in the corner of the room, and I have no idea where to go with that. Subtle intelligence is so much harder to deal with than boys who just think you're cute. Those boys are fun, though, so I guess I'll just be content with them for awhile.
But so good things I've done in the past two days: (1) Straightened out all of my financial aid business and I'm paid up for the school year. (2) Set aside several hundred dollars for the trip to Ireland over Christmas and paid off the rest of the tour fees. (3) Talked to my academic advisor and decided on my concentration! I AM in the biology department. Dr. Sternes was amazing and I feel a definite bond with him. He's the first person here who honestly looked and listened to what I've done and showed that I'd left some sort of impression. He's delighted I want to travel and that I'm aiming for some vague amount of trilingual-graspage with the French. So to appease the SALE scholarship board and to increase my marketability down the road, as a writer or otherwise, I'm going to use Biology as my concentration instead of Humanities. Next semester I'll be in zoology and herpetology and all sorts of stuff that's techincal, but interesting. Hopefully. And, (4) On my way to Fort Davis, I stopped at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute and I'm going to start volunteering in a few weeks and then, possibly next month, start a few-days-a-month desk job at the store and offices. I took a small walking tour and the place is flat-out breathtaking. Can I go ahead and re-insert that the weather here is beyond amazing? So, same field of interest, new direction!
Branching out and going to a theatre club meeting / reading tonight, before and after my Latin Art class. I doubt I'm going to read for any part in the plays, though I checked them out-- I don't know where to start with either a French or Spanish accent, and both are required for either play. But it'll be a different set of people (odd ones, which is cool) and who knows? I could love it. This is me being independantly social!
My dad sent me a really cool letter today with one of my favorite church hymns -- "On Eagle's Wings" -- and a picture of this weird-looking bald eagle on a swing. (It makes sense if you've heard the song.) Anyway, it was funny. :) I miss him.