[Xist]

Well, grades are in: B in Physics, B in Anatomy, and a B+ in Introduction to Human Communication Disorders. I spent most of my time trying to study for Anatomy, but I realized at the end that I did everything [well, many things wrong] with the first two classes. I honestly do not know what I could have done with Miscommunication. Each week we needed to read a chapter and watch a "tutorial." Then we had half an hour to take a ten-question quiz. I usually missed one question, but there were usually at least a few questions that I could not find in the book and did not remember from the tutorial. Once or twice I took notes on everything and did not seem to need them, but that might have been because I remembered everything better because I took notes.

When I first started college I had a terrible time taking notes. When the professor said something that I thought that I should write down, I could not remember the idea long enough to write it, and then I missed the next few things that he or she said, so for most of my time in college, I just tried to pay attention and hoped to remember. That is what I did in Physics and I earned a B. Had I taken notes, I would have had an A.

The textbook is "condensed" and there was a consensus among the students that it was irrelevant to the class. It just did not explain what I did not understand.

Shortly before I graduated the first time I bought my original laptop and was able to type up notes. I had one professor tell me to put away my computer. I think that it was a different professor that stood behind me for an entire class while I typed every useless thing that she said.

That was the only class that I failed. It was never offered again.

Of course, I could not type up notes in Physics. I really try to avoid using paper, so I only brought my notepad when I specifically thought that I would need it. I did not realize until the end that I needed it every Physics class and that while it irritated me that my professor wrote on an overhead, I realized at the end that if he wrote it, so could I.

In Anatomy we needed to correctly answer about 143 (actual number!) on-line questions for each chapter that we covered. I would go over her notes, read the chapter, and guess on almost everything. Since I did not know it, I would write down the question and answer, instead of looking for the answer in the textbook.

That would have saved me hours on every single chapter.

I earned a 3.09 for the semester, but need a 3.7 to apply for the Master's program. Unfortunately, my cumulative GPA still shows the 2.97 from my first Bachelors (now a 2.98!). If I earn straight As until graduation, I will have a 3.76 for these classes, but a cumulative 3.23.

I had looked forward to finally playing World of Warcraft over break, but I had really felt that I needed to read my new textbooks. I read a chapter before going to bed at 8pm.

Most.
Exciting.
Friday.
Night.
Ever.