Back to School

I am SO HAPPY to be back at school. It feels great to get back into a routine and see all my friends. So far my classes don't seem like they'll be too difficult. My psychology classes are always easy. This professor has a good sense of humor, and is very straightforward about everything. He made it clear on the first day that he has high expectations, and that many of his students find his tests challenging, but as long as we attend class and do the reading then we should have no problem getting an A or B. That's exactly the way I like it. Plus, I find the topic absolutely fascinating. We'll be discussing all kinds of mental disorders. Biochemistry has been pretty boring so far, because it's just review. Since this class is combining all the disciplines (physics, chemistry, and biology) that we've learned so far, the first week is just a big review of all these concepts. So it's really boring. It's a typical science class in that it's just lecture, reading, studying, taking the test. My third class I have with Daniel! I love having a class with him. It's the first time since freshman year. The class is about children's literature and what message they are sending and why we choose particular stories to read to our children. We will spend the first 3 or 4 weeks learning about different perspectives on children (psychological, educational, sociological, historical, etc.). Then the next week we will each have a chance to present our favorite children's book. And the rest of the term we will read 1-3 books a week at each age level. Starting with infant/toddlers, then preschool, then early readers, then late readers, and ending with young adults. I will LOVE reading the children's books, but I will HATE writing about them. It seems like I'll have to write at least 5 pages for each class (twice a week). That's a lot of writing. Yuck. My final class is physical chemistry. I've had this professor before, and he is extremely disorganized and scatterbrained. But the benefit to that is that he has very low expectations of his students, and is very lenient on his grading. For example, if the entire class complains that a question is too hard, he'll throw it out or something like that. He is the kind of professor who wants his students to like him. Not very authoritative. And to my benefit, that means that he is allowing me to take the midterm early so that I can fly to California for my brother's graduation from the army's Defense Language Institute! I'm so glad I'll be able to go. My sister is flying out, and my ENTIRE family is driving there from Arizona for the weekend. And this means I will miss two classes, one of which will be an exam which I will have already taken. So I will really only miss one hour of actual lecture. Back to the class, we were asked to split up into groups of 3. Half of the class period will be lecture, and the other half will be assigned problems that we complete as a group. Lucky for me, one girl in my group is a math major! This is so lucky because the class has a lot of calculus background, which I have not taken in 3 years and remember very little of. I was already planning on calling my sister for help, but now I have a group member who should be able to refresh my memory as well. Regardless, we all have to take a "calculus assessment" test online so that our professor knows how much to go over.

So those are my classes this quarter. I'm excited! I don't have any class before 11am, and I am still able to work about 10 hours a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons. I have been happier the past few days than I have been in a long while. I think it's the socializing with new people, and getting outside that is making me so happy. Doing the same thing every single day is just so boring. Now I have much more independence and free time. And since I'm away from home so much more, the roommates aren't getting on my nerves nearly as much. I can't believe that in May, I will have a college diploma. A Bachelor's of Science degree! It's unbelievable really. I will feel so accomplished when I finally have that degree. I feel such a sense of security. Like I shouldn't ever have to worry about making enough money to support my family. Although I know that's not true, especially in this economy, it still feels better than not having a degree. And I have worked SO HARD for it too. That's what makes it feel even better.