It feels very odd to not be starting school (for the first time in 19 years) especially when I am surrounded by people at the University of Dallas, who are in the flurry of beginning their semester. I admit I am a little envious of Laura who started school yesterday but I am content to vicariously suck off of her academic world like a lamprey.
A run down of the classes she is taking:
Literary Traditions 4: General Lit class in which she will read Crime and Punishment, Moby Dick, Go Down Moses, and Mansfield Park (I am going to attempt to read both Dostoyevsky and Melville along side her)
Animal Behavior: Her Biology class
Spanish Literature: A Spanish class that focuses on, you guess it, Spanish literature
Junior Poet: Her most intense class, in which she picks a poet and reads all of their poems, biographies, 5 larger critisims, muliple shorter critisms, write a critical paper, and then is required to sit in front of a panel at the end of the semester while they drill her on whatever they feel like about the poet. Oh and this is just a side project, she will also write other papers and take tests over poetry in general. She picked W.H. Auden, and despite his 900 pages of poetry I think she is really enjoying him so far.
And finally, Tolkien: That’s right, a whole class on Tolkien. This is where I am envious. Required reading is Lord of the Rings (along with some other random books he wrote). She “had” to buy the Atlas of Middle Earth, but got it used at the bookstore.
A run down of the classes she is taking:
Literary Traditions 4: General Lit class in which she will read Crime and Punishment, Moby Dick, Go Down Moses, and Mansfield Park (I am going to attempt to read both Dostoyevsky and Melville along side her)
Animal Behavior: Her Biology class
Spanish Literature: A Spanish class that focuses on, you guess it, Spanish literature
Junior Poet: Her most intense class, in which she picks a poet and reads all of their poems, biographies, 5 larger critisims, muliple shorter critisms, write a critical paper, and then is required to sit in front of a panel at the end of the semester while they drill her on whatever they feel like about the poet. Oh and this is just a side project, she will also write other papers and take tests over poetry in general. She picked W.H. Auden, and despite his 900 pages of poetry I think she is really enjoying him so far.
And finally, Tolkien: That’s right, a whole class on Tolkien. This is where I am envious. Required reading is Lord of the Rings (along with some other random books he wrote). She “had” to buy the Atlas of Middle Earth, but got it used at the bookstore.
3 comments:
Welcome to life after college. Let Hell begin! haha...
I asked one of my children (I won't say which one she is) when she was a junior in high school, "Aren't you excited about attending just one more year of high school?"
Her response was: "Why should I be? After high school you just go to more school. Then, when you graduate college, you just have to work for the rest of your life. What is there to look forward to?"
A couple of comments:
1. Find work you love, then it won't feel so much like a burden.
2. You don't have to "work", but then life does become BORING.
3. Just because you have graduated doesn't mean that you can't take college course work that interest you.
4. If you really think going to school is something to miss, become a teacher. :)
Mom, thanks for the lengthy response.
1. I am doing work I love, it will just take me awhile to work up to the really interesting parts.
2. I am not complaining about work. Just noting the change in my life's situation.
3. Good suggestion, I am planning to take courses for the rest of my life on the side. It just so happens that right now I am "taking" courses alongside Laura, which is just fine with me.
4. It is a possibility someday.
As a side note: Part of the effects of the Fall is that work will become a burden. It doesn't have to be all of the time and we should strive to make it less of one, but it shouldn't surprise us when it does take effort and is boring. School is the same way. Although I am envious of Laura's subject matter, I really don't want to do all the homework it requires.
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