Thursday, January 21, 2010

Back In the Saddle...

Call me a nerd, but I like school.  I don't think I actually love going to class (four hours is an awfully long time for this girl to sit), but I like the whole experience.  The people, the professors, the way it makes me think of things in a way I wouldn't normally.

This semester is a little different from last in that I'm taking classes I'm actually interested in.  I have a *very* liberal arts degree in economics so I am obviously somewhat enthralled with the concepts of supply, demand and elasticity (really).  At some point during class this week I even thought about just getting an advanced degree in econ. I aced accounting in high school and always wished that I wasn't too big of a wimp to take more of those kinds of classes in college.  So this is my chance.

Now believe you me, I am not the type to overachieve.  I will study until I think I thoroughly understand the material and then put the book down and move on.  I've never pulled an "all-nighter" and I'm still likely to find myself waking up at 3am with drool on my textbooks and all the lights still on.  I probably won't even ace these classes, but gosh darn it I'll enjoy them. 

Our quantitative analysis class last semester was so daunting and constantly overwhelming that I never had the chance to really hunker down and get to the root of it.  I spent all my time catching up instead of understanding.  How I managed to pull off a very respectable grade in that class is a little beyond me but I'm glad it's over.  I feel like that was too much of my undergrad experience for reasons I won't go into quite yet, but I'm glad that - at least for now - I feel like I can more fully take advantage of these courses. 

I'm also taking classes back to back this semester.  That means on both Mondays and Tuesdays I get up before the sun, work eight hours, grab a Diet Coke and some string cheese on my way to school, and then proceed to sit through class for four hours.  It's not painful, I get to see my friends, I enjoy learning and it gives me structure.  But it also means I'm super exhausted come Wednesday and the week isn't even halfway done. 

Like before Vani and I run a race, I get all kinds of nervous before the start of a new semester.  Like somehow there is always an option of failing.  But there isn't, really.  I will work as hard as the course requires.  Period.  I will tackle the hills, probably complain along the way, and enjoy the challenge in different capacities. 

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