Well, I’m officially done with my junior year in college, and it feels a little different this time around. First, it’s nice being in a house off campus, and I don’t feel rushed to pack and scram out of here. I’ll probably gradually trickle some of my stuff back to my permanent home over the next week or so, and I’ll basically have a week to be a bum before I start work painting houses over the summer. Even then, I’ll have the luxury of coming back and forth between homes whenever I feel like it until I start my second job as a camp counselor. Also, it’s a weird feeling knowing that next year is my last ever in college… but let’s pretend I never said anything since I’m not trying to think about that.

My finals actually were really really easy–I had two “real” ones, the other classes we just met or turned in some things. Plus, the one test was an essay which isn’t really something you can study for too much, so it’s like I only had to study for one final. Even then that one (for communications) was just our third unit test, so yeah. A real easy week for me, so it’s almost like I’ve been out of school for weeks now. And yes, it’s already boring me… I kind of can’t wait for work to start, then I won’t just be sitting on my hands and will be making some money. I’ve been really pinching pennies and being super cheap with food lately, and while that can sort of be remedied by going home to Pepper Pike, I’m not ready to be moving stuff around and sticking around there yet. So I guess I’ll kick off my summer with nothing too special, but I’d say that’s all you could ask for after two fairly difficult semesters of school. I hope this summer’s an enjoyable one, and of course I look forward to next year at Baldwin Wallace, so until then, I hope everyone has a great summer!

Today was the last day of regular classes at BW, and it’s a breath of relief for a lot of people, I’m sure. I only had my Literature of Rock and Roll today, and I admit that it’s in a way sad to have such a cool class come and go like that. I wish all classes were as interesting as that, but not to say I’m bored by other ones. I liked my communication class a lot, and that’s increasingly become a field I’m interested in. Oh, also, today was the last day of my student teaching, something I’ve failed to mention until now. I was placed in a middle school over in Elyria a half hour away, and that was a nice experience. I had 8th grade language arts, and the kids and teachers were all goo to me there. The best part of the whole experience there was the teaching of George Orwell’s Animal Farm I did. I mean, I like Animal Farm and all, but just the fact that I taught a book was really great to me. That’s essentially what I’ll be doing as a teacher someday, so it was really nice to get my feet wet with the teaching of literature. I led a class discussion, going over the events and interpretations of the novel, just like back in high school and even some college classes. I thought it went well, even if I was a little pressed for time that day… but managing time is something I’ll continue to improve at as a teacher, so again it’s good to get this practice. So overall I’ve had a good experience there, and overall a pretty good semester. I think that academically this should end up as one of my better semesters, so there’s always that. And my finals aren’t looking too difficult… so I’d say a studious-yet-not-over-stressful (aka 1 hour of sleep a night) weekends is in store as I prepare for the last of my junior year.

My god, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged… sorry about that, but the end of the year can be pretty busy as I’m sure any student could tell you. But let’s get right down to business: April Reign, first off, was fun as always. I went to all the events but chariot this year (I’ve yet to do that), and they were as entertaining as ever. One of my roommates and a few friends did the obstacle course. They didn’t do so hot, but it was all out of fun. The down side of this year was that it was ridiculously rainy, as opposed to the last two years where it was like 80 degrees and sunny, but you can’t win them all. And of course, now it’s been like 40 the past few days and I’ve had to break the winter comforter back out for my bed. Other than that, classes and schoolwork haven’t been too bad lately since all my work got dumped on me the previous week. I mentioned those 10-pagers, a research paper and all my work from then, and yes, the whole doing work ahead of time actually helped a lot (imagine that!). I think I’m onto something there. As far as the year closing, I have mixed feelings. I never like when school ends because a lot of friends leave for the summer, but on the other hand I don’t have any schoolwork to do. I have work of course, but I’m hoping to make some big bucks this summer, since lord knows my wallet is aching from use right now. Rent’s been a real killer for me, as well as car payments, food… Actually, I’ve been eating off my Jacket Express a lot lately since I overcompensated at the beginning of the semester, so it hasn’t been that bad. Plus, only three more months on the lease at the ol’ house… and I haven’t QUITE figured out next year’s living arrangements, but no worries there. The rest of the year should sail smoothly, since I’ve already smartly taken measures to prepare for finals and don’t have that much left these days. I’d say I’m getting pretty good at being a college student, so bring on finals next week.

Okay, so it was a rainy April day in the 50’s, which might not be so unusual, but considering how nice it’s been lately, today was like a blast from right out of mid-January. Seriously, we’ve been seeing sunny 80+ days here lately, and I almost forgot I was in Cleveland for a minute. And of course I’ve taken full advantage of the amazing days… I’ve been playing sports outside, taken the liberty of being able to have all the house windows open, and lounging around the house not needing a shirt. A true slice of paradise. My favorite part of all this is being able to do things outside, though, for sure. Since it’s been nice, I’ve ran outside, played multiple games of basketball and ultimate frisbee (my favorite) and even snuck in a game of volleyball. To me, there’s nothing quite like being active, and the weather has been perfectly conducive of activities, and everyone else has been energetic and willing to do anything. However, while there is a lull in the nice weather, there’s similarly a lull in my streak of easy schoolwork. Or, more like, jam packed for the rest of the year. I have four big ol’ papers (two of them intense research papers) and field experience to take care of down the stretch. But I’ve become smarter since I’ve been here at college (imagine that) and have already taken some stabs at the workload, rather than procrastinate. If I pace myself and just devote a few hours a day to these things, I shouldn’t have too many problems the rest of the year. But I’m making fully sure that I’m spending my time wisely these days–I’m trying not to waste time twiddling my thumbs, so when I’m not out being active, I spend some time doing a little school work. I’d say I have the hang of this whole college thing, so hopefully there aren’t any real snags that pop up any time soon. Until then, I do have a little bit of reading to do, which I really don’t mind at all. Sometimes it’s just so peaceful to take a shower, read, and go to bed… and of course blog as well.

As you might have guessed by the title, I’m pretty excited to have the weekend finally here. I thought this week would be easy after having such a tough one, but it wasn’t at all. But now I’m finally done with a huge load of schoolwork, and I’m just so content to have the weekend here (with a super easy week coming up, too). I finished reading a particularly arduous book for my Lit of Rock n Roll class (it wasn’t BAD, it was just a tough read), I got an EDU project out the way, and it’s just good tidings for a while. Unfortunately, I’ve come down with a little sickness–just in time for the weekend, right?–but it’s not too bad and I won’t let it bog me down at all. I even played five games of basketball at the rec today. I just love weekends since I have the time to do things like that. Oh, thought I’d mention, on Thursday I attended a mandatory reading seminar by the author Jeff Parker, and while I go to these things with an open mind, I never knew how much I’d like the material he wrote. I ended up buying a copy of the novel he read from (it’s called “Ovenman”) and had him sign it. I know it was a mandatory event, but I’m really glad I went–I think I’m gonna like this book (when I actually have time to read it). In other news, I got another A on a paper for my World Lit class, so I’m pretty proud since until now I’ve always seemed to be caught in this quagmire of B’s for all my papers, so maybe I can finally start churning out stronger work. I know it’s nearing the end of my college career, but better late than never, and at least I’m improving. However, apparently there are guests over my house, so I’ll be going now to help entertain, so until next time, readers.

So I realized I haven’t posted in a long while, so I figure I’ll play some quick catch up with what’s been happening these days. I’ve failed to make mention of my spring break… which was really fun, and definitely worth the high price tag. It was great to have a full week in “paradise” (it was warmer in Cleveland than down in Florida at one point, go figure) with a group of friends, and I hope to do it next year if my student teaching allows me to. Last week was utterly miserable for me, however. It was quite honestly one of the most work-filled weeks of my college career, with hundreds of pages of reading to do, a paper to write, an exam, a big presentation, the works. Every class had something big for me to do, and I’d even gotten some of it done over break during the car rides. Couple that with the fact that I’d lost two hours of my biological clock that weekend (one time-zone over and daylight savings), and that made for one tired, busy week. This week isn’t nearly as bad, though, and really all I have to worry about is reading and class scheduling. Next semester should be the last semester I have to take conventional classes, so I need to make sure I get everything done. After next semester it will be all about clinical practice and being a student teacher. AKA, real life is staring at me from across the street right now. I’m not trying to think too hard on that, so I’ll just leave and finish up the rest of my reading for the night. I also have to meet with advisers to finalize what my schedule will be looking like in the fall sometime this week, but considering the small number of classes I have left, it shouldn’t end up being too tough. Now here’s to hoping this reading I’ve been putting off doesn’t keep me up much longer.

And here it is, I’ve officially finished up all the things I need to do, and am ready to go on spring break, which I’ll be leaving for within the hour. I had the second part of my Lit of Rock n Roll midterm, which was an in class essay–a bit of a doozy to go out on, but now I’m done with everything classwise. I’m practically done packing, just a few knick knacks here and there… (is that how you spell knick knacks?) Anyway, it’s time to be worry free for a good week down in Florida, which will be a nice change of scenery. I’ll be the first to defend Cleveland weather, but change is always nice for a little while. And I guess “worry free” is a bit of a stretch. There’s some work I’ll have to do over break, but that’s what a 20 hour car ride is for. And “little work” is an understatement, since I have like 200 pages to read and a big ol’ paper due the Tuesday we get back. Again, I guess that’s what the 20 hour ride is for. Anyway, I guess I’ll go finish packing and all, then sit around a minute before leaving. It’s doubtful I’ll be able to blog over break, so this might be my last one for a while. So, until then, a happy Spring Break to everyone.

It’s the halfway point through the semester, and oddly enough, up until this semester I’ve never really had to worry about any midterm work. But this time around I’ve been pretty busy all week long. I have like three projects and a paper due tomorrow, and have had a two part midterm exam in Lit. of Rock and Roll (just got back from part one, part two is Friday). Of course, I’ve learned from the past. Guess who’s gotten a jump start on all their work for the week? That’s right, I’ve been spreading my work around evenly and have finished up a few things that are due tomorrow, I’ve gotten my studying done well, and I’m just on top of things. Actually, what’s really driving me insane is this whole spring break thing… I’ve been running around trying to take care of little errands and getting ready for the trip. I’ll be like a thousand miles from home down in Florida, so I’m gonna need to have everything in order by Friday. Unfortunately, I’m just the kind of person to forget this and that, but I’ve made a checklist of what I need to bring. I mean, it’s only a week, so how much could I need, right? Wrong. Without some essentials, like a Gameboy, book, homework, and bathroom gear, this trip could go to hell in a handbasket. Okay, so maybe not that bad, but the fact remains that until I leave, I still need to keep on top of everything, whether it’s the schoolwork I have or things for the trip.

Being an English major, I have to write my fair share of papers during my time at BW. Just recently, I finished up and turned in a pretty hefty essay of eight pages, and then today had a conference with my professor about it–looking at both strengths and weaknesses. Now, I’ve hit this time in my life recently where I think that I’m really making strides in improving my writing. First, on the paper for the World Lit class I did a while back, I really learned how to focus on who my audience is and to really hit home with a lot of the points I was making. Personally, I thought it was the best essay I’d ever written. Then today during my conference, I really had some light shed on my writing abilities. I honed in on some things that have held me back before, as well as got some new insight as to how I can get better. I know it sounds cliche, but sometimes I really feel the fact that I’m learning here at college, and classes like this Workshop one are some of the ones that help most. I think the most helpful classes are ones where you can revise and learn how to improve yourself. In this Workshop class, we write up a rough draft, do peer editing, turn in the final product and have a conference about it, and even after that we do a final edit for our own benefit. I think all classes should endorse that level of revision, since I learn better from my own mistakes than from anything else. Granted, it would be pretty time-consuming in a lot of classes and impossible to do. Also granted that I learn differently from other people. Still, I’ve come a long way, and of course only look to improve. Anxious is a strong word, but I am a little anxious to be able to revise this paper and see how to get better. There’s not too many better feelings (to me) than truly writing a great, insightful, deep paper. It really inspires a higher level of thinking, and you feel so smart to do well at it (again, Mr. Cliche). I dunno. But at least I can blog stress-free without having to worry about anyone editting mie paypers.

To start off, I don’t know if I’ve made any mention of my spring break plans in all my blogging… But for the record, in a few weeks I’ll be embarking on my first vacation trip with a group of friends ever. We’ll be going down to Panama City (where there’s apparently a load of BW students going) and staying in a hotel-thing by the beach. There’s six of us total, and the room fits us all. We booked everything a while ago, paid deposits, blah, blah, and we’ll be driving (yeah, driving) all the way down there come break. BUT today, a funny little thing happened: the agency that got us booked apparently messed up our whole thing, saying they’d booked us when they were actually full, so weeks after we set this all up they decide to tell us that there was no room in the hotel. Plan canceled. Honestly, I laughed a bunch at the situation, with the whole “just our luck” thing. Literally, of all the people reserved for spring break by this entire agency, we were the only group that got screwed over with the whole booking process. We started looking at other places (I mean, we were gonna go regardless of where we stayed), but a few phone calls and some ripped out hair later, the entire situation got worked out. Another room apparently canceled their stay, so we get their room. So we’re back to the same deal, same situation after what was just a short-lived scare. Actually, I’m disappointed now–after all the hubbub I figured we’d end up getting some compensation… like, a free $1000 check or something. Hey, a guy can hope. But everything is back to the original plans, so lets just hope it stays that way and our luck doesn’t bite us again.