Whooo-ee

A tip for all students everywhere: never, ever, get anything below a C. I know a lot of students don't generally care about their GPA (highschool and lower especially) but in college a C- or below will significantly impact your numbers. I just corrected a class I had previously received a D in (music theory 3) and the second time around was able to obtain a B-. That turn around, as well as a cluster of very good grades this semester, raised me from a 2.71 to a 3.21.
So, for those of you sitting on the fence of retaking classes you had previously not done so well in, don't hesitate on it. Eventually you will more likely than not need to increase your GPA for grad schools or professional careers, and in the last year it's too late. Remember: you have to submit transcripts to schools and places well in advance of attendance so they can accept or decline you with time to spare.
Short and sweet, now, to buy laundry detergent!

Done!

Is there no better feeling for the average college student than to finally put your pencil down after the last test at the end of another grueling semester? Well, perhaps the celebratory beer and pizza the evening after finals week is over... but really, it is always an accomplishment to finish out another semester. Even before grades are posted, and even if one does not do as well as hoped, it comes as a major undertaking for coming to the end, gaining more intelligence, and getting one step closer to a hopeful goal.
This is my fifth year of college, I've been a junior in two undergraduate programs, and I am ready to move on with my life. However, instead of counting down the minutes I prefer to keep busy so the time flies. Now I am three semesters away from my undergraduate degree, and anxious. It is becoming more and more taxing to keep going, and just not throw in the towel. For that reason, every semester I successfully completed is one tippy-toe nudge closer to my degree. That stupid, flimsy, easily printed, piece of paper, is my main reason for just staying at my current state in life.
So to all lower classman, and burned out upper classroom, hang in there, you are closer now than you have ever been, and you will only continue to get closer.

Finals!

It is now finals time in college. That special time that happens only twice a year where students are on edge (even more so than normal coffee/energy drink offcianados) because we are all attempting to pretend we learned something in our classes.

Really though, how much of what we test on do we honestly remember? I don't do well when it comes to taking tests in most subjects, but I do retain a lot of information proving that I actually learn. Just when it comes to tests I have test anxiety, and that really doesn't do well with grades.

Anyways, enough rambling, this is just a really hectic couple of weeks, and everyone is just a little more crabby than usual. Just remember-grades are just a means to an end, and that in the long run, after you get a job and are an adult in "The Real World" it is more about what you learned in your college experiences, rather than how you were graded. That knowledge alone keeps me plugging through the runs of society.

So chin up! This (college thing) too will pass!

Cheese Nips and Verdi

So it has come to my attention that with the successful completion of my current essay for Opera Literature, I will have written 12 pages on one composer and two of his operas. Why does this strike me you may ask? Because I didn't honestly think I would ever have more than a couple pages worth of material to really talk about ANY musician and his life and works, let alone the rudimentary startings of a book.

Now back to finishing said essay.

Nabucco by Verdi. go check it out.

Classic!

Alright, I love some pop music that comes out. Gorillaz are my favorite band, for those who didn't already know. They just released a new single song called "Doncamatic" and I can't stop listening to it! (http://www.youtube.com/user/gorillaz)
I'm a classically trained musician, but damn, for how simple it is, it really gets to me. That is all for this evening!

The Long-run

So it's a couple weeks before the first break of the semester, and if there is one thing I will always remember about college is this- three weeks before the first major break (especially when there is NO other break before hand) at the end of the semester, people start to become rather...odd.

Have you ever seen that episode of Northern Exposure where everyone in the town starts acting extremely peculiar until the ice shelf outside of town break (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xgyn18E89s) ? It's like that, only, just with a break. And instead of just having a raging libido, it goes more along the lines of being pissed off.

Think about it: a whole community of 20 somethings that are under high stress, little time, crappy living situations, terrible jobs, little money, and a high sex drive, then toss that in with nearly twelve weeks with no break from it! I'm not going to lie, I get crabby around this time, and apathetic. It's just the long-run of college life I suppose, but still, it sucks.

There are a lot of different ways this long-run comes out in people: they become depressed, aggressive, very sexual, obnoxious, needy, withdrawn, funny, come down with a sickness of some sort... basically anything that can be labelled as unwanted for any long durations of time.

So just remember on the bright side of things- the break is coming! It's only a week and a half away! Then a week of turduckeny goodness(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHRFAM0ZvCM)!

Idiots!

I need to vent. I don't like to attack people for inconsequential reasons-like their opinions or the way they look. I will however argue a person if what they say is, to me, beligirent, ignorant, mean, malicious, condescending, or any other of non-rational reasons that attack a person personally. Elections were last Tuesday, midterms. I live in a red state, so I wasn't hoping for much, and one particular election position, that of the superindendant, was particularly important to me. I was bummed when my candidate lost, it happens. Some of my fellow electees posted their grievances on certain social websites, and there is always that one person who just has to throw themselves in the lion's den. I mean really, why would you post your fraudulent opinion like a smartass waving the redflag at a bull in a discussion between educated people of opposing views. It's not like we didn't understand that person's views, it's just that those views were unfounded, media garbled, propagated bullshit. It rather annoys me too that this particular person doesn't ever have to fear about being poor due to her birthplace within her family. It's okay to have your opinion, but it doesn't mean people want to uninvitingly hear it.

So please, be aware of WHO you are talking to about your opinions, because there are people like me who like to question opinions and see what facts can be glimmered.