Fall 2009 Recap

Well, finals were last week (Hallelujah!) and grades were due today. I'm glad this semester is over! It was a rough one, partially because I was still unsure of what I wanted to do, and that in turn aided and abetted in my lack of motivation. But I got through it! In no particular order here's the best and the worst of Fall Semester 2009.

Human Development - A basic course in Family & Consumer Sciences. The professor was great. He brought his guitar and played it for us one day - he's really good. The first few tests were easy since they were about child development, and I've been through that with my own kids. The last few tests had less familiar material, so I had to study a bit more. All in all, a basic gen ed. My grade: A. :)

Marriage & Family Relations - Another basic course for FACS or FLHD (Family Life & Human Development). Same professor as for Human Development. I enjoyed this class as well. A lot of it was common sense stuff. Some of the material was harder to swallow, like child abuse and domestic violence. I learned some funny things I do in my relationship with Ben that I really need to STOP doing! Too much Willard sometimes. Another basic gen ed, but one worth taking. My grade: A. :)

Intermediate Poetry - This class is the reason I was there. I really like this professor. She's a bit...I want to say scatterbrained, but that's really not the term, she just has a lot on her plate. Funny story.....I was in her office for a conference one day. Her office has always looked like a paper bomb just went off. Creative minds = messy desks? If that's true then I'm in trouble! I think she has a desk somewhere under all those papers, I've just never seen it. On one of the shelves in her office is a brown file storage box with a piece of paper taped to the outside that reads: Things that go somewhere else. I think she might need a slightly bigger box. Anyway, I really like her style of teaching and the way she gives feedback. She also doesn't tolerate kids being obnoxious while she's teaching and she goes about making sure they are paying attention in a very good way. She shared with us some of her poetry this semester and I really love the way she writes. She also got me started using my voice in my writing. She helped me to find the aesthetic I like. I'm excited for Advanced Poetry next semester. I also made friends in this class. Friends I will see for the rest of my creative writing courses - thank goodness. I was really tired of seeing all new faces in classes with 80+ people! My grade: A. :)

How the Earth Works - I really love Geology, I always have. Even when I had it from Coach Peacock as a sophomore in high school I loved it. But this class was an online course and I will tell you this - I WILL NEVER IN MY LIFE TAKE ANOTHER ONLINE COURSE. I'm really terrible with reading comprehension, and that is what all my test and quizzes depended on. I am the type of person who needs to be in a classroom where I can hear my professor and ask questions face-to-face, not via email. But I survived. At least now I know! This class filled my gen ed for physical science. My grade in the class and the lab: A. :)

I really am glad this semester is over. I'm looking forward to next semester for a lot of reasons. I have three classes that go toward my major, I know a lot of people in my classes - at least a handful in my English classes. My schedule is about the same, so that's nice for my babysitters - AKA Grandmas. :) I will be done with gen eds next semester! And I'm taking a guitar class! I've always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, and besides the initial purchase of one, the class fee is only $5! I can't beat that. I was listening to my sister/niece (sniece?), Kristina, play today, and WOW! My goal is to learn to...I want to say play, but she does so much more than that when that guitar is in her hands. I want to get the music like she does. Maybe she'll give me lessons when she drops by. ;)

But now that my grades are up, I really can relax and not think about school for awhile. I'll just unsuccessfully avoid gaining five or 10 pounds by eating all the treats people have brought by! It's like non-stop sugar delivery around here! No complaints...yet...until my pants start getting too tight.