I worry sometimes about coming across here as the arrogant snob I really am, but then I stop myself and say, "Hey, what's the point of having a blog if you can't brag about your accomplishments?"
Spring quarter grades were posted this morning and I'm happy to say I did well. My grades line up, not surprisingly, in order of how much I enjoyed my classes. I got a 3.9 (UW does not give letter grades) in Cataloging, which was my favorite library/information science class ever, and a 3.8 in Classification Theory, which was almost as cool as Cataloging, and I even managed to get a 3.5 in the Stupid Core Course I Hated And Whose Purpose Remains A Mystery. This averages out to a 3.71 for the quarter and a 3.84 for the year. Which is pretty decent, all things considered. (And you wonder why I have little pity for the transfer applicants who explain that their GPA dropped to a 1.8 last semester because their roommate's cousin's grandmother has cancer. Foxy and I have talked about this before--neither of us is the type to roll up in a ball in a corner and stop functioning when our lives seem to be falling apart (in fact, I think that focus on the day-to-day things is what keeps us sane), which is great for us, but it makes it difficult for us to have empathy for those who are that type, which is not so great.)
Even more gratifying than my grades for the quarter is the feedback my Classification professor gave me on my paper about lesbianism and homosexuality in LCSH and LCC. She gave me a 4.0 on the paper and thinks I should submit it somewhere for publication. Which is cool because it's one of those papers that I got excited about as I did the research and was easy to write because I actually had something to say, so it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who thinks I had a good idea or two.
This is what I love about school--no, not people telling me how wonderful I am (though that is nice), but finding subjects I can feel passionately about, ideas I can wrestle with, and dialogues I can contribute to. It's good to be reminded that school is something I can enjoy now, not just a means to a future end.
YAY FOR YOOOOOOOOOOU!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHurray!!
I loved all my upper level coursework. Good times!
Sadly, though, I cannot answer the questions my children are most interested in knowing the answers to...such as, "Who decided minivan doors HAVE to slide, but not other cars?" and "Do you think Heavenly Mother would think it was a chore to do Heavenly Father's laundry?"
Since I cannot answer these questions to their satisfaction, they often ask me, "Are you SURE you went to college?"
sigh
Like you, I tend to get the job done even under tremendous stress. Within weeks of one another, I was thrown out of my home and my fiance left me and I still graduated summa cum laude. Mr. Mormon had cancer and radiation last year, was in the Bishopric, and I was Stake Primary President, and we never missed a beat. But I did come unglued a bit when it was all over. oopsies....
No letter grades?
ReplyDelete"Spelling makes Maybe feel [crocodile]"
I don't like letter grades either. I went to a progressive school in Orange County.
ReplyDeleteI got a smily face in my self-esteem class. I still brag about it.
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ReplyDeleteMe, I'm fully in favor of arrogant snobbery.
Good job - gold star for you!
ReplyDeleteWell done! I loved the papers I wrote about topics I was interested in. It doesn't really feel like work when you enjoy it. Especially when you enjoy it and you'd probably write about it sooner or later anyway, but this way you get to write an even more informed and thorough report of the topic. :D
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the grades - and the ability to 'hang in there' regardless of the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteAs for your remark about school being something that 'I can enjoy now' - those are some of the reasons that I was in school at age 58, and am looking forward to going back to take more classes after I retire. I love learning.