Week 11 1/2

Well, it's been an interesting and rather stressful week.

I withdrew from my writing class and will fulfill that requirement during spring term when I can be more prepared. That means my graduation is pushed back to June instead of April. Because June graduates fall between the April and August ceremonies, they can pick which they attend, so I can still do all the graduation celebrations with my husband next month. It's not desirable, but I feel good moving forward with this plan. I feel much better getting out of that class than I felt getting into it; I chose this semester's writing class because I was scared and rushed, and I didn't do much research about it; I didn't know what I was getting into. So hopefully next term will be a better experience and I'll learn more from the class.

I also had a stressful conversation with one of my professors that left me crying in the bathroom for about 20-40 minutes afterwards. We've since clarified things over email, but that wasn't fun. I knew that he was probably offended at me over something, and I wanted to compromise, and he wasn't interested in compromise at first. I wasn't planning on doing this, but at the end of our conversation I disclosed to a professor, for the first time, some of my frustrations with our program. He encouraged me to not give up yet. Not quite the same as my experience with the guest lecturer, where she encouraged me to continue beyond my undergraduate degree, but this professor encouraged me to finish up my degree and not drop out. I didn't think I had conveyed that I was considering dropping out, but I've definitely considered it in the past. Yes, school is still hard, but I'm so close to finishing that I've got to tough it out. I guess I cried because I was tired of failing, tired of disappointing people, and tired of being bored in classes for years. Maybe a few others things as well, but those stand out in my memory.

Now, after withdrawing from my writing class, I've got a bit more time to devote to my other classes. I want to use the extra time to meet with the TA's for my audiology and family history classes and get caught up, making sure that I understand the material and complete the homework. I also want to do some research to find a writing class for spring that will fit me well and that I'll be prepared for. That's where I need to spend most of my time for the rest of the semester. I just hope things go well.