This winter I returned to college decades after my last degree and was shocked at how hard my classes were. My previous degrees were in engineering so pursuing a soft science is an entirely different animal. There was heaps of reading, and some classes required a lot of memorization. I also had to write many formal research papers and essays. I was very much a fish out of water and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to stick the landing.

To make matters worse during the week 2 of my research papers were due I had a horrendous head cold. I was sick all week, so I did not turn in my best work. The following week I was symptom-free, but drained – and that was finals week. I felt doomed.

However, now I have 3 out of my 4 grades back. I have one of each type of A: A+, A, and A-. Of course my hardest class won’t kick a grade out until the end of next week at the earliest, but if I get a B out of it I’ll be really happy.

Meanwhile I’m sleeping all I want, reacquainting myself with my friends, and spending frivolous time too. I bought myself a 1,000 piece puzzle of Klimt’s Kiss with graffiti tagging overlaying it. We’ve been working on it almost a week now, and it’s almost finished. I’m going to kick back and really enjoy the summer before heading back to test anxiety and eyestrain again in the fall.