Well, I've passed my comprehensive exams, so it looks like I'll be officially graduating (not that there was ever any doubt that I would). I also apparently won honorable mention in a national Russian essay contest. My professors congratulated me Wednesday, and I happily accepted the congratulations (I had mostly forgotten about that contest, I'd done it once or twice before and never won anything) and decided that I would go online later and find out more information. However, I haven't been able to find anything! I really wanted to see who the other winners, since there's a good chance that I know at least one or two of them...and it's always fun to see your name in print. I think that I was in the 4th and hardest group, so that's pretty impressive.
The essay contest news couldn't have come at a better time either. I found out on the day that I had to give the oral part of my comps, and it's always a good idea to put your professors in a good mood before they begin the interrogation section of your exam.
With comps out of the way, I now just have to write my honors thesis, write another paper, survive a couple of more classes, and take my final exams. Unfortunately, I only have about a week to do the honors thesis (which will probably be 20-30 pages) and the other essay (probably 8ish pages), so I'm freaking out a little bit. I also found out a bit of irritating news. It looks like I'm going to graduate .001-.05 GPA points short of summa cum laude because Sewanee doesn't round. This didn't bother me before because I figured I either had it or I was too far away for it to be an option, so I could just get my work done and coast to the end with a clear conscience. If I end up getting a 3.749 I am going to be severely irked.
While we're on the subject of GPAs, let me rant a little bit more. Basically, it's unfair. Everything is severely weighted here. Unlike many schools, where an A is a 4.0 regardless of a plus or minus beside it, an A- here is a 3.67. A B-, in comparison, is a 2.67. Since when is a B of any sort below average? Teachers don't seem to realize the extent of the damage done by those pesky little minuses, and slap them on at random if there's any doubt. I also find math unfair..one bad grade can drop your entire GPA drastically, but one perfect grade can only bring it up a tiny bit. Math is also unfair in another sense...I only wanted to take Calculus I, but I was forced to take Calculus II because by some fluke I got a 5 on the AP exam. I know I suck at math, and I tried to say so...I blame that B- on Sewanee.
There's a reason I only donated $2 to the Sewanee Anual Gift Fund (that and the fact that I got a hilarious thank you card)....
In other news, Coolio (THE Coolio) is coming to Sewanee tomorrow. One of the fraternities was suspended from having parties last year, but they still collected dues. As a result, they've amassed a large quantity of money, and they figured that the best way to spend it would be to hire a famous rapper to come for Spring Party Weekend. It's a pretty good idea, I have to admit. Unfortunately, it's supposed to be really stormy tomorrow, so hopefully it won't get canceled.
This summer is looking like it's going to be hectic, to say the least. However, I think that it will be an improvement from last summer, which was completely inactive (save for 5 or 6 days in there). I'm going to begin by driving solo cross-country. I've driven up to 13 hours by myself, but I've never had to go for multiple days. More specifically..I've never had to book a hotel room on my own before. I think it'll be pretty easy though...as long as the credit card works.
Well..this is enough procrastinating for now. Mostly I just wanted to rant about my grades, and there's no one online and everyone that I live with has disappeared. That's the way it usually works.
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