Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Ramblings of a Mature Student
These days, I find myself pondering the meaning of life and all that happens within the years of our living. Perhaps this is because I am older and more mature, and beginning to wonder where my life is going to take me. At 25 years of age, I am slightly older than many of my university comrades who have arrived just out of high school. I realize that I am by no means considered too "old" to be here, but some days I feel old! This could be because many of my peers are finished school, have jobs, houses, spouses...basically they have lives! I have school work and studying! I never pictured myself as a person who bends to social constructions or norms regarding the make-up of society, rather I fancied myself to have a fierce independant streak, breaking the rules wherever they may constrain me. Ha! These little tidbits that are ingrained in us from children are starting to chip away at my self-realization a tad bit. I am starting to feel a little worried that I am not close to marriage or even a seriously committed relationship. I feel self-conscious that I still live at home, even if it is a financially sound decision keeping me out of taking student loans. I look at my little nephew and feel the maternal stirrings of someone who wants to be a mother someday. I will be 26 years old in under two months and my identity is still fixed in the role of a student! I know I should be enjoying my youth, freedom, and little responsibility while I can, because once a husband and kids set in, I will probably be wishing for some of my old life back. But that is the dilemma of being young, isn't it? We want to grow up so fast and have everything perfect at once. Then when we get what we want, we either want more, or we wish back all the things we took for granted in the past. Perhaps if I could just see into the future and know my life is heading in the direction I want it to be, I could relax and enjoy what I have right now!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
My Last Midterm Rush
The process of university that begins for me each September is unique with each new class, but yet, is also strangely familiar. The first month is pretty relaxed as exam dates, assignments and course material are finalized. I will start reading my material to ease myself into the topic of each new class, and dream of the last day of the semester almost four months away. It's funny how the completion date of the courses seem so distant in that first month.
As October rolls around, the midterm rush is suddenly on! Exams come up quickly and assignments that did not seem due for ages, are quickly becoming a reality. I dread the cramming and sleep deprivation that comes with midterm week. I wish I was one of those people who could say "enough is enough" and put down their books and go to bed early before an exam. Instead, I stay up until the morning hours forcing as much information into my head as possible, feeling the pressure of the impending doom. It is not uncommon for me to get three hours of sleep a night until the hellish week is over. My incessant need to work under pressure, combined with the uneasiness of not knowing what to expect as each professor structures their exams and expectations in a different way, leaves me winded by the end of the week.
As much as I dread the hard work of preparing for midterms, Friday afternoon brought with it a sense of accomplishment, as I felt I did reasonably well on all of my exams. I savoured the feeling over the entire weekend of doing absolutely nothing related to school work. Alas, Monday morning cooled my post midterm 'glow', as it brought with it the hard realities of midterm scores and the ever closer due dates of term paper assignments.
The thought that this is my last real semester of university before my APT placement and graduation in the spring keeps me working on!
As October rolls around, the midterm rush is suddenly on! Exams come up quickly and assignments that did not seem due for ages, are quickly becoming a reality. I dread the cramming and sleep deprivation that comes with midterm week. I wish I was one of those people who could say "enough is enough" and put down their books and go to bed early before an exam. Instead, I stay up until the morning hours forcing as much information into my head as possible, feeling the pressure of the impending doom. It is not uncommon for me to get three hours of sleep a night until the hellish week is over. My incessant need to work under pressure, combined with the uneasiness of not knowing what to expect as each professor structures their exams and expectations in a different way, leaves me winded by the end of the week.
As much as I dread the hard work of preparing for midterms, Friday afternoon brought with it a sense of accomplishment, as I felt I did reasonably well on all of my exams. I savoured the feeling over the entire weekend of doing absolutely nothing related to school work. Alas, Monday morning cooled my post midterm 'glow', as it brought with it the hard realities of midterm scores and the ever closer due dates of term paper assignments.
The thought that this is my last real semester of university before my APT placement and graduation in the spring keeps me working on!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
What is Wrong with a Real Wedding??!!
People seem to have no respect anymore! What happened to the days when people used to spend months planning a beautiful wedding in the anticipation of spending this most special day with close friends and family?
The craze of the destination wedding has sank its teeth into today's unmarried couples and will not seem to let go! I admit that when this fad took hold a few years ago, the thought of getting married in a tropical location was kinda cool. The novelty of flying to Mexico to attend a wedding ceremony was exciting. Now, it seems like the whole world is jett setting off to a foreign country to say "I do."
I find the widespread fad of destination weddings to be sickening. It is a cheap way for the bride and groom to "get off easy." There is relatively little effort spent on planning the "big day" once the resort is picked because most offer all-inclusive wedding packages as part of the deal. How romantic! The bride and groom end up spending on their entire wedding the same amount as their guests need to in order to be there for the big day! They also have their honeymoon as a sort of two for one deal. What happened to the days when family's put on weddings complete with food and booze as a celebration for all loved ones to participate in? I often hear that money is the big issue. So, have a small wedding with only close family and friends. I still believe that it is the responsibility of the family to put on a wedding for people to attend, no matter how large the guest list is. Why should I pay the same amount as the bride and groom to attend their wedding?
Since the destination wedding has become so popular lately, many people have one,two or three invitations in one year. How is this realistic? These selfish brides and grooms expect people to take time off of work and spend their hard earned vacation time on their wedding. Not everyone wants to take their holidays in the likes of Mexico.
Compound the money, time, and travel issues with the fact that I cannot get time off from school for the wedding of a former good friend, and it means that I am a bad friend. How dare I not take the chance to skip part of and possibly fail my APT, while spending $2000 on a student's budget just to be in the Dominican Republic for my friend's wedding. Obviously it is not important enough to me to be there! Perhaps I should suggest this inference regarding absent wedding guests at destination weddings is true only of the bride and groom who make such an inconvience of their wedding!
The craze of the destination wedding has sank its teeth into today's unmarried couples and will not seem to let go! I admit that when this fad took hold a few years ago, the thought of getting married in a tropical location was kinda cool. The novelty of flying to Mexico to attend a wedding ceremony was exciting. Now, it seems like the whole world is jett setting off to a foreign country to say "I do."
I find the widespread fad of destination weddings to be sickening. It is a cheap way for the bride and groom to "get off easy." There is relatively little effort spent on planning the "big day" once the resort is picked because most offer all-inclusive wedding packages as part of the deal. How romantic! The bride and groom end up spending on their entire wedding the same amount as their guests need to in order to be there for the big day! They also have their honeymoon as a sort of two for one deal. What happened to the days when family's put on weddings complete with food and booze as a celebration for all loved ones to participate in? I often hear that money is the big issue. So, have a small wedding with only close family and friends. I still believe that it is the responsibility of the family to put on a wedding for people to attend, no matter how large the guest list is. Why should I pay the same amount as the bride and groom to attend their wedding?
Since the destination wedding has become so popular lately, many people have one,two or three invitations in one year. How is this realistic? These selfish brides and grooms expect people to take time off of work and spend their hard earned vacation time on their wedding. Not everyone wants to take their holidays in the likes of Mexico.
Compound the money, time, and travel issues with the fact that I cannot get time off from school for the wedding of a former good friend, and it means that I am a bad friend. How dare I not take the chance to skip part of and possibly fail my APT, while spending $2000 on a student's budget just to be in the Dominican Republic for my friend's wedding. Obviously it is not important enough to me to be there! Perhaps I should suggest this inference regarding absent wedding guests at destination weddings is true only of the bride and groom who make such an inconvience of their wedding!
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