Aside from working at the orphanage (or ‘internat’), I will be taking 3 courses through Distance Education, two of which are in Philosophy, and one which is a Directed-Readings Religion course.
I had an assignment due on Wednesday for one of my Phil courses (Critical Thinking), but because I had been running around preparing for my trip and working at St. Jerome’s the week before my departure, I had not been able to work on it. So I worked on that all of Tuesday and Wednesday and I got it done just in time! It was such a relief that Orest had internet here for that, and it was such a great feeling to get it done.
However, when I was about to go to bed on Wednesday night, I opened my binder to check the schedule for my other Philosophy course (Great Works of Western Philosophy), only to discover that I had ANOTHER assignment also due on Wednesday!!! Gaaaaahhhhh!!! And by that point it was too late, because even though I am 7 hours ahead, it was already 11:30 pm and since Orest was already asleep I could not send my assignment until the next morning, even if I worked on it all night… and by that time it would already have been one day late. Sigh. So I freaked out, thought to myself, “How am I going to do all of this? This is already late! Should I drop the course? What about my tuition fee? What about the OSAP arrangement I already made? I haven’t even sent the documents to my family for the OSAP… bla bla bla bla….” You get the point. I was so worried I couldn’t fall asleep and I was up till 3:00 am!! Gah…
I had no idea what to do. I seriously considered dropping the course. The next morning, however, when I checked the deadlines for dropping courses and the penalties assigned, I realized it was not worth it. If I dropped it now, it would show on my transcript as “WD” (withdrawn), which doesn’t assign a grade but still looks bad. Also, at this point I could only get 50% of my tuition back. Then I thought to myself, “Well, if I hand it in today I will only get a 10% deduction on this…” So that is what I did! I worked so hard on it and I got it done. It was not the best essay I have ever written, BY FAR, and I am sure my grade is not going to be the best, but in this case I will let it pass and not get bent out of shape.
That freak-out of the night before was ridiculous and I don’t want to get like that again over school. I am here for a much more important purpose, and that is what I am going to focus on. School is important too, and I will work hard at it, but I won’t let it make my life miserable and make me forget why I am here. Besides, I need my sleep if I am going to be able to function!! Hahahaha.
I can't believe you are taking 3 courses in addition to volunteering at the internat... wow, what a busy summer! And it must be difficult at times, being in another country away from all the people you've known... volunteering and taking 3 classes on top of that! Wow, that's crazy...
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to get your Critical Thinking Assignment done on time - that doesn't sound like a very fun course...
Wow, that 'freakout' as you put it sounds soooo stressful... I can imagine why you weren't able to sleep. Sounds like you have a more balanced attitude now regarding school and volunteering - I am glad you won't get as bent out of shape over school again :D School is certainly important, but volunteering is even more important (as long as you're passing everything lol). You won't remember the courses you're taking 20 years from now, but you'll remember volunteering.
You mentioned "I am sure my grade is not going to be the best." So I'm sure you got it back by now... what was it, like a 99%? :P