Accentuate the positive.

Edit: This should have been posted last night -- apparently I forgot to change the privacy settings. Sorry guys!

     I wanted to wait to write an entry until I had had all of the classes for which I had registered. Well, I took a two-hour hibernation nap this afternoon, so I'm nice and awake even though it's almost 2 AM (I need to get up at 6! What am I doing?).

     First off: I love being able to relax until 9 AM. Last semester I had an 8 AM class, and even though it wasn't a tough class, it was just nightmarish. Nobody was really awake, and the professor had a voice that could lull anyone to sleep (not in a bad way; she just had a very calming way of speaking). NEVER AGAIN, I swore. And I got just what I wanted. Those of you who have not yet experienced college: an 8 AM class is vastly different from a 9 AM class. Trust me.

    Dr. White's the professor for my 9 AM class - "History of the West: Renaissance to Revolutions". Originally, our professor was going to be Dr. Krysiek, but after the death of one of the Political Science professors, Krysiek went to cover the classes that were left without a teacher. Dr. White's a very mild-mannered man; he obviously likes what he teaches (he started talking about his own historical interests), and he gets extra bonus points for pronouncing my name correctly on sight. He did, however, Italianize my surname (which I corrected). He smiled and just said that it was how it would be pronounced in "the old country".

     In terms of materials, it looks like I'm going to enjoy what we're covering. Tests are 50% of our total grade though, so you can bet I'll be studying. My western civilization class last semester was the course that broke my straight A's -- so this one might pose the same threat. Whatever: memorize the names, do the reading, show up. That's all college really is.

     The room itself, however, is cramped. I think there's about 30 of us in a very small room. I'm slightly weird about having my own space -- my living arrangement reflects this as well.

      Second class of the day was my 380 English course. First off, that school is full of poo. I was told that I was the only freshman enrolled in that class. Next thing I know I see Elise's friend Katie come in.

Katie: Hey! Can I sit with you?

Me: Sure, why not? ...are you in the right room?

Katie: This is "The English Language", right?

Me: Yeah. I was told I was the only freshman in here, though -- for god's sakes, I had to get clearance for this class.

Katie: I didn't. They just let me in.

     Katie's in the honors program on campus -- which is great for her, really. But the kids in there get so many perks that it's almost unbelievable (private lounge, days when the cafeteria is theirs for their parents only, they're also allowed to take additional courses at no extra cost). And to get in when you're not an incoming student is rough. I was told that my 3.734 GPA wasn't high enough for entrance. What?

     Dr. Hamel is wonderful. I love listening to her speak -- she sounds exactly like Katharine Hepburn. She also knows what's she's doing and for some crazy reason, likes me. The class itself is just humorous -- 50 minutes of making funny noises with your mouth and trying to understand why you sound funny. Although I will admit it conjures up bad memories of speech therapy (I have a slight impediment, even now -- 's' sounds some out as 'sh').

     Freshman Seminar is the same as it was last semester. Dr. Long is still awesome, but the class still sucks. He's tailoring the class to his interests in music and society, though, so looking at the syllabus has promised that things will be interesting. An entire day dedicated to Public Enemy? What? I'm still shocked a bit by it.

     My other two professors are too sweet for words. One of them has a southern accent which I find absolutely endearing, and the other one has been described by Karen as a "short little ray of sunshine". I'm going to write a little more about why I won't be seeing Professor Jarvis anymore, but Dr. Mitra is...great. I'm one of those people who can just fall in love with how a person speaks -- and this lady is just so eloquent. She came into class early, smiling, ready to go -- and it made me feel good. She was so timid, though -- while going over the syllabus, she apologized for "being mean" to us for not accepting late work, she apologized for having to go over the academic integrity policy (basically, "don't cheat or else"), and she apologized for having so many deadlines. It's your job -- it's fine! Relax!

     I've been told she's a harsh grader, which makes me a little nervous. Last semester, I had a professor who, again, I liked -- but she was definitely Anglocentric. When she saw that I was marked as an English major, she would tear into my papers. Jon did better than I did on some assignments, and you know why? She would look at Jon's and think, "he met the requirements" -- 100%. She'd look at mine and start writing comments on them about my word use, style, tone...and mark me down for it. Eventually, it was worth it -- I was only person who got an A on the final term paper -- but if this Lit. class turns into a case of "I-worked-hard-and-only-got-a-B+", I will be very disappointed.

     I'm happy, though. The only thing that's keeping me stressed out is this 10 hours of work a week thing. All I want to do when I get back to my room is sleep.