Well, it’s kind of hard to believe, but we’ve made it through a whole month of college! Boy do the days go by quickly…
I must say I’m definitely getting into the routine of things. I know most of the bus routes, which dining halls have better food (Neilson and Busch, by far), and had the chance to talk to some of the other girls on my floor (finally). My floor is very, very quiet…which is good because it’s not loud and distracting when I’m trying to study or sleep, but it’s also kind of sad that I only know about half the people who live on this floor. :( But then again, there are only five freshmen on this floor—the rest are older students, who are actually very eager to give us newbies helpful advice. Tip: Get to know the people on your floor, especially if they’re sophomores and juniors and seniors. I know I definitely have a lot to learn, but knowing that there are people who have already made it through the classes we’re taking now is a very comforting thought.
This week we had bathroom decorating, finally! The theme was Tropical Island, which somewhat showed through…Overall, when we finished, the bathroom just looked much, much, much brighter. And I got to know some of the other girls on our floor. Believe it or not, I was actually really excited to add more color to the drab walls and grayness of the bathroom. Check it out!
These flowers definitely brighten the place up! I love the centerpiece (I helped arrange it!).
Nothing like these cute shower curtains. Sure beats the white/grayish ones we had before.
Before: Boring ugly gray (not pictured). After: Awesome colorfulness.
We came up with some pretty good rules, if I do say so myself. I especially like Rule #12. It works too!
Anyway, you’re probably still wondering what it’s like taking three English classes. (Yes, I’m taking three English classes. No, I’m not crazy. ) In case you don’t remember from my last post, I have:
- Expository Writing 2 – Research in the Disciplines
- Creative Writing
- Intro to World Literature
Expos 2
I’m in Expos 2 because I AP’d out of Expos 1, which is allegedly the worst and most-dreaded class in this entire school (next to organic chemistry and maybe one or two others). The topic for my Expos 2 class is Rebels, so every essay I study and every paper I write somehow relates to that central topic. So far we’ve read some Thoreau and King and Gilman (her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” is pretty chilling) and studied how they apply their theory of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience in real-life case studies. Very interesting class. We’ll be starting on our major project soon, that is, the research paper on an individual or group of rebels, their theory/framework of resistance and case studies of how that theory was implemented. I’m learning to utilize the databases that the library websites have. Boy, is there a TON of information out there! I’d better get started on finding sources (I think I need 10 or so scholarly sources) for my paper! But thankfully, no exams for this class. :)
Creative Writing
I’ve never really taken a Creative Writing course before this, but I must say I like it a lot. Right now we’re writing poetry, and later in the semester we’ll be writing fiction (like short stories and such). At the end of the semester, I’ll have to turn in a portfolio of 8 or so of my pieces (poetry and fiction), and again, no exams! :) This class is by no means easy, though. I’m definitely challenged every time—it takes at least half an hour to think of something to write about, and then another thirty minutes to tweak the poem to get the words to say what I want to express, plus maybe ten more minutes to do final editing. And every other class, we workshop each other’s poems, meaning the entire class critiques and crosses out lines and adds words and tries to interpret your poem. At first, I was quite intimidated (as you can tell, I’m a rather shy person), but everyone in the class is being quite open as to what they’re writing in their poems, and everyone’s feedback is very interesting and helpful. On the days that we’re not workshopping, we have craft sessions—we study contemporary poets’ works and try to glean techniques from their writing. Overall, another very interesting class.
Intro to World Literature
This class fulfills my SAS Liberal Arts requirements under Humanities, as well as Diversity and Global Awareness. Lucky me, I get to kill two birds with one stone…er, rather, tackle two requirements with one course. :) Even though this class was chosen for me, I decided to stick with it because it’s very fascinating. Intro to World Lit is also classified as Comparative Literature—we study works of literature from many different cultures and geographical regions, translated, of course. So far (in the past 4 weeks) we’ve read some Greek tragedy, Chinese philosophical texts, and Sanskrit and Urdu poetry for the lecture that meets once a week. These lectures are PACKED with information! I need to learn shorthand or something; I can’t write half as fast as the professor speaks, and there are loads of interesting historical/cultural/literary facts I’d like to write down. During the recitation (smaller classes), we’ve discussed irony and read an excerpt from Rilke’s poetry. We’ve also tried our hand at translating, and in the process, learned how, sadly, important meanings can’t exactly be conveyed in different languages (thus, lost in translation).
So you see, taking three English classes isn’t too bad. To all you prospective students out there, I hope you’ll be inspired to take at least one of these English classes (even if you’re not that into reading and writing). It’s challenging, but you will definitely grow as a writer and critical thinker!
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