survive this semester

Due to a spectacular string of illnesses and a refusal to give up and take a medical withdrawal, I’ve gotten myself into the pickle of being in way over my head semester, seasoned in the brine of despair and dismay. I have seven (seven!!!) regular tests to take, five final exams, and a huge pile various papers and assignments to be done.

I need to get everything completed so I can head to France this summer and spend a blissful six weeks eating crepes, drinking wine, and getting another six credits under my belt studying abroad without a mountain of work awaiting my return, casting a shadow over my trip. It’s definitely a formidable task, and things can’t be done perfectly. However, I see it as a positive that I can’t afford to be a perfectionist this time. I need to learn to take “good enough” from myself and not stress so much.

just gotta push through the last of it…

for now. I finished grading today and handed them in. Some very nice graduate papers. Of course, some flakeouts, too, but this semester I didn’t feel I could do much about those students who insisted on self-sabotage.

to not surviving.

I’m perhaps a little premature, since I’m not actually done with grading yet. But it feels like I have survived, and better than before.

the grading that follows. About 25 research papers and assorted tests.

Not too bad, really.

Wednesday

10:30 Conrad’s class
12:00 faculty meeting
5:00 review session

Friday

9:00 review for exam
10:00 exam

Sunday

7:00 make up class/party at my house for Verdi class

Monday

10:00 last class for Verdi
3:00 makeup exams for GR

had a list. I’ll try it, I guess:

1. finish comments on all drafts that I receive by May 6th
2. grade all papers
3. announce evaluation revision in GR
4. administer tests and makeup tests in GR
5. host GV at my house
6. run seven more classes
7. administer evaluations
8. guest lecture in someone else’s class
9. email everyone in GR about homework status

• lesson plans for the last week of classes
• Minicourse paper
• Paper proposal for Freud class
• APA submission
• Feminist theory paper
• Freud final
• Revised case formulations for Advanced Clinical Practice
• Advanced Clinical Practice final
• Grade all student papers
• Write final exam intro. class and test review
• Calculate and submit final grades for students
• Finish intake report
• Other clinic paperwork (therapy plan updates)
• Submit something to department conference
• Finish assessment report 1
• Finish assessment report 2
• Freud paper (extended to Jan. 7)

• Write next semester’s syllabus
• Work on course design for Cultural Diversity
• plan the course I’m teaching as much as possible
• Read ahead for next semester’s courses

oviously I did.. now I just have to survive the next one=)

I took my last exam this past thursday, so I’m all done with my sophomore year. I feel like I should be elated, but I’m not. It seems like the stresses I deal with only serve to mask the much more difficult ones to come. Whenever I accomplish something, I’m faced with a more difficult task. I guess I should just get used to it and learn to accept that things will probably never be easy. Unfortunately, all I want to do is give up- just lay down and sleep forever…