Did I Survive the First Week of Classes?

The answer: yes.

Clearly, I've managed to survive the first week of classes because I am here, blogging about them. I technically have two more classes to got through before my actual first week is done, but we're going to disregard that for the time being. Now, onto more about me!

All jokes aside, as far as first weeks go, this wasn't bad. It wasn't bad at all, mostly because I think I've come to realize how easy this semester has the potential to be. It also has the potential to be hard if i'm lazy about it and if I keep taking on more and more responsibilities. I have the tendency to bite off more than I can chew, but that aspect of my personality hasn't been too hard on me, so perhaps I can rest easy for the next couple of months. The second I sat down in my first two classes on Monday, I knew I was expecting a semester unlike any I've had since maybe freshmen year. And dammit, I worked hard enough to ensure that my last semester of college was (potentially) a cakewalk!

I attribute a lot of my first week "success" to planning. Man, I went through those syllabi and practically annotated them trying to find due dates, rubrics, assignments, anything I could write in gel pen in my agenda. I tried to find loopholes, extra assignments, anything that would even need to be handed in at any point in the semester. Sometimes, I came up empty, not by my own shortcomings, but by the structure of the classes I somehow got blessed into enrolling in.

I like to think of the first week of classes as sort of an orientation, or "reorientation" week. It's where you try to figure out your schedule, when you should do things (and when you shouldn't). If you're a returning student, it's when you try to catch up with all of your friends that you hadn't seen during the summer. If you're a new student, maybe you spend it trying to find your new friends in a new place. Or maybe you're just running around crazy trying to get your work done. Honestly, there is no wrong way to treat the first week. We're all different people, after all.

So, first impression of senior semester? Meh. We'll see. I'm still not stoked, but I'll manage. Plus, I got my brand new Macbook Air yesterday, meaning I can actually get work done on campus because I'll actually have my own computer with me. Such a novel concept, one I haven't had the pleasure of taking advantage of because of my own six thousand pound Macbook Pro from 2012.

I have a few goals for this semester that I didn't think to mention until now, mostly because I admittedly just thought about them now. I'm very goal and list oriented, so what better inclusion in this post than a list of goals.

1. Get straight A's
2. Write an article that I'm really, truly proud of
3. Rewatch Gilmore Girls (not an academic goal...or is it?)
4. Become more comfortable with InDesign
5. Speak up in class at least once a class

How was your first week of classes?