Countdown to Freedom: 19 Days
I have made no progress in studying for any of my exams. You'd think that after midterms I would have learned to study in advance, but no. My ability to procrastinate continues to astound me. Though, to be fair, I did manage to complete a fair amount of work today, so maybe there is hope for me yet.
Also, some time when I wasn't looking, it suddenly became December. It's really hard to believe that I've been attending the University of Windsor for pretty much three full months now. I am 19 days away from the holidays and freedom. Strangely, I'm not looking forward to holidays. Well, not as much as usual, anyway. I can't wait for the time off, but I know I will miss the campus and my friends. I may even miss a few of my classes, subject matter wise that is. Next semester is still giving me some problems, but I am now 105 on the waiting list, so I guess it's slowly improving.
I have no helpful hints for anyone at the moment, except maybe that talking to older students in the same program as you can sometimes be a good idea. In the end, you should always get major problems addressed by a faculty member, but you would be surprised by how much the third, fourth, and even second years know. Sometimes they know things you don't even know you don't know, you know? And one of the great things about university is since what year you are in suddenly does not matter they are really easy to find. A 'first year' course could very well be full of older years, in fact I rarely sit beside first years in my classes. So, short form, talk to people, ask the question you're afraid to ask the higher up people. You may be surprised by what you learn.Saturday December 6, 2008
Countdown to Freedom: 16 Days
I've been extremely productive today. I woke up at 10 AM and have been studying for half an hour periods, taking ten minute breaks in between. I switch up subjects every hour, and after three hours I take a longer break. The system has been working really well. I've done about six hours of pure studying, but I feel like I should be able to get a couple more hours in before I fall asleep. My only complaint is even though I'm getting a lot of work done nothing is getting crossed off of my to-do list. It's a little disheartening to have worked all day and not see any tangible progress. I guess I can't have it all though.
My first exam isn't until the eighteenth, and this is probably the earliest I've ever began studying for anything in my life. It feels kind of good, and if I can keep it up I should be more than prepared for my exams. Doing all this work is taking (and will continue to take) a huge bite out of my social life, but if I get the grades I need to keep my scholarships it will all be very worth it. If I don't get the grades...well, let's just hope it does not come to that.
I'm off to do some more work. One more set of three hours and I will be going to sleep. ^_^Wednesday December 10, 2008
Countdown to Freedom: 12 Days
Since my last post I managed to fall back into my procrastinating ways:
-Sunday, I got about three hours of work done, but when it came time to start up my next three hours of work it just did not happen.
-Monday I spent the day in the library using the Course Reserves my professor has set up at Leddy Library to research for the essay the class is doing in place of an in-class exam. I was surprised to find you could only take two books from the Course Reserves at a time and only for two hours at a time. It was kind of tiring having to walk up and down the stairs multiple times to retrieve and return books, but I suppose it is a good system since so many students probably need the same books. Plus, it was extremely helpful not having to look up a bunch of books on my own.
-Tuesday I had classes, like usual.
Today, I've managed to pull a repeat performance of Saturday. I'm starting feel slightly more confident about finishing in time, but at the same time this confident attitude worries me because if I get too confident it is so much easier to procrastinate. Hopefully I'll be able to find a balance.
That's about all I have to say, so I'll leave you all with a reminder that your tuition is due December 15th and to check SIS for your account balance. :)
P.S. I'm now 95 on the waiting list for a course I want to get into. Hurray for double digits!Saturday December 13, 2008
Countdown to Freedom: 9 Days (single digits!!!)
I have three essays to type up, so, of course, my laptop chooses NOW to make the 'a' key sticky. It still works, obviously, but it's annoying when I'm trying to type quickly and I have to stop and hold the 'a' key whenever I need to use that letter. It couldn't have been the 'z' key or something that got stuck. No, it had to be a commonly used vowel. It's a good thing I started writing these essays early, if this had been a last minute issue that came up I would have been in some serious trouble. Just goes to show you never know what will happen and you have to prepare for the worst.
Just one more thing to add to exam stress.
I'd also like to say it sucks when a bunch of your friends come home from university because they're done their exams at their regular time, but you can't go hang out with them because you still have to study. I just want it to be December 22 already.Monday December 22, 2008
Countdown to Freedom: 0 Days
It feels kind of anti-climatic. I feel like there should be balloons and streamers and confetti, lots and lots of confetti. Instead I was awarded with a six hour drive to visit family. At least it gave me plenty of time to catch up on my sleep.
I haven't received marks from any of my classes yet, but a few of my friends have already received their marks on SIS under the "Grades and Schedule" link. I'm anxious to receive my marks because they'll let me know whether or not I've kept my oh-so-important scholarships. I really want to keep my scholarships.
One thing students (first year and up) should always be aware of is there exam times and dates. I know it seems obvious; it seemed obvious to me too, and yet I still missed the hand-in time for one of my essays. Thankfully, my professor gave me a break due to the strike so I will not be receiving a zero, but I will be getting marks off. Seriously, check and double check times and dates, and make sure you are looking at the right class for your exams...some of those course codes are similar and easy to confuse. And it will save you so much stress.
P.S I am now 88 on the waiting list...I'm beginning to doubt that I'll make it into the class...Saturday December 27, 2008
Countdown to 2009: Four Days
Well, it's the middle of the winter break. It's really strange not having fifty things that I need to do. This is the first time I haven't been studying for well over a month. I think it's going to be difficult to begin working again; I've really enjoyed having a break from it all.
Yesterday I went to see the a World Juniors hockey game, Canada versus the Czech Republic. Since the tournament is taking place in Ottawa this year, the crowd was obviously full of Canadians and fully supportive of the home team. By the time we had scored our fifth goal I was beginning to feel pretty bad for the Czech Republic team. The final score was eight to one for the Canadians.
Today I'm taking it easy...on the family time front at least. I plan to get some reading done from some of my French books from the fall semester that were never assigned just so I keep in touch with the language. I may even read ahead in my grammar book because in the winter semester I have a part two of a course I had this semester and it uses the same textbook.
I haven't slept in my own bed for the past five days. After practically living in my room for the the last half of the semester, seeing as that was my study space, I really, really miss it. I'm going home in three days, just in time for New Year's. It's going to be my first time taking a train anywhere. I'm not sure if I'm more nervous or excited.
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