It has gotten that bad - I've started mentally counting down the second until I board my plane. Never mind that in exactly two days, I'll be getting out of a car at the airport and nervously making my way through customs (I don't like airlines, but it's nice to know that there is some security). No, knowing that I'm two days away isn't good enough for me. I've got to count it down to the seconds.
I've finished packing and such, but the preparations never seem to end. First, I ended up having to buy another suitcase so I could take some sweaters. So I've now got two checked bags, one carry-on, and one purse/laptop case. I don't want to take so much, but it seems unavoidable. I've met my roommate online, and she's really awesome. She's from Belgium, but she attends college in the States. I think we'll get along swimmingly, and it's nice that my term start date was messed up and I'm arriving early because now I know that I'll have four days to settle myself in until she arrives. I still have to fill out the power of attorney, and Dad was going through all of the "loss of life" information with me on the health attorney form. Which brings me to my next point:
I am most definitely a "worst-case scenario" type of girl, and not in the good way. For example, when I travelled to Germany once, my dad, trying to soothe my anxiety, made the mistake of asking, "What's the worst that could happen?" My twenty-minute explanation ended with something to the effect of, "- and that's when the zombies finally broke the iced-over glass in the Heathrow airport and started devouring the defenseless travelers." Yeah, he made a point not to ask me for a worst-case scenario this time around.
So anyway, I still have to get my forms notarized. But everything's finally in one place, which is nice! I'm always so disorganized and I can never find anything, so it's delightful to finally have all of my paperwork in one place and sorted through, and last night, I ended up cleaning my room out so that I wouldn't leave a mess while I'm gone. I don't think that I have any other travel-related things left to do, but I do have one major project that I'm working on tonight that I need to finish for tomorrow...
I'm applying for a summer internship with The Chronicle of Higher Education. I am so very excited for this opportunity to apply, as writing for the journal would be very prestigious. As I want to publish both pre- and post-undergraduate graduation, this chance at writing for one of the most well-known journals in the country (world?) is mind-blowing. So right now, I'm just trying to finish my resume and get to work on writing a cover letter (which I need to finish tonight so I can overnight my application to Washington DC tomorrow). One of the things that I'm currently bemoaning is the fact that things blew up with the newspaper last year. A lot of it was my fault, as I'm coming to terms with, but a lot of what happened could have been avoided if the process of editing and reviewing had been followed properly. I'm not saying that my article from last semester is going to hinder my chances of writing for The Chronicle, nor am I saying that I wish I hadn't written my article last semester... In fact, despite the pain, I think that the controversy was good for me.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you start ranting to a group of friends about something and about half-way through your rant, you realize that you've offended someone very dear to you because of the way you phrased a certain sentence? Enter: my article last year. I took something that I was passionate about (lowering academic standards) and responded to an article that no one else had read, used poor phrasing, and ended up hurting the people that I was trying to help. But it's more than that. I realized, in those few weeks of being forced to keep silent, that we all read things with blinders, even when trying to confront something with an open mind. We come in with prior experience, certain doctrinal beliefs and moral values, and cultural differences. Can anything ever truly be looked at objectively?
Critical Theory has taught me that proponents for new criticism have said that we can. Readers can approach and analyze a text using only what is found within the text itself, using no outside sources, such as historical context, feelings, etc. Can the same be applied to ideologies? Ideologies in themselves generally appeal to a specific group of people. Applying this to my article, students (or faculty) who want to raise academic standards are generally those who don't feel challenged enough by the academic material and content available to them. Students who are struggling academically probably don't want to raise academic standards. However, this is where personal reactions come in to play. As an academic institution, Eastern has a responsibility to its students to provide and rigorous and challenging course of study, so that students might become well-rounded individuals. As a Christian institution, Eastern believes that it has the responsibility to help students who may be struggling in their academic work but who have the ability. I won't say anything more about this conflict (although I'm not saying that the two concepts are mutually exclusive) in this blog because it's not the direction in which I find myself wanting to go here, but I'll end with this: Oxford is a well-known, scholarly, academically rigorous institution that cultivates an environment meant to foster individual learning. Oxford is an undoubtedly successful institution.
Can I live up to its standards, or will I just serve to prove that Americans from institutions less rigorous than Harvard, Yale, and Stanford are as unintelligent and ignorant as they are believed to be? What message will I leave with this classy and renowned university?
I am most definitely a "worst-case scenario" type of girl, and not in the good way. For example, when I travelled to Germany once, my dad, trying to soothe my anxiety, made the mistake of asking, "What's the worst that could happen?" My twenty-minute explanation ended with something to the effect of, "- and that's when the zombies finally broke the iced-over glass in the Heathrow airport and started devouring the defenseless travelers." Yeah, he made a point not to ask me for a worst-case scenario this time around.
So anyway, I still have to get my forms notarized. But everything's finally in one place, which is nice! I'm always so disorganized and I can never find anything, so it's delightful to finally have all of my paperwork in one place and sorted through, and last night, I ended up cleaning my room out so that I wouldn't leave a mess while I'm gone. I don't think that I have any other travel-related things left to do, but I do have one major project that I'm working on tonight that I need to finish for tomorrow...
I'm applying for a summer internship with The Chronicle of Higher Education. I am so very excited for this opportunity to apply, as writing for the journal would be very prestigious. As I want to publish both pre- and post-undergraduate graduation, this chance at writing for one of the most well-known journals in the country (world?) is mind-blowing. So right now, I'm just trying to finish my resume and get to work on writing a cover letter (which I need to finish tonight so I can overnight my application to Washington DC tomorrow). One of the things that I'm currently bemoaning is the fact that things blew up with the newspaper last year. A lot of it was my fault, as I'm coming to terms with, but a lot of what happened could have been avoided if the process of editing and reviewing had been followed properly. I'm not saying that my article from last semester is going to hinder my chances of writing for The Chronicle, nor am I saying that I wish I hadn't written my article last semester... In fact, despite the pain, I think that the controversy was good for me.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you start ranting to a group of friends about something and about half-way through your rant, you realize that you've offended someone very dear to you because of the way you phrased a certain sentence? Enter: my article last year. I took something that I was passionate about (lowering academic standards) and responded to an article that no one else had read, used poor phrasing, and ended up hurting the people that I was trying to help. But it's more than that. I realized, in those few weeks of being forced to keep silent, that we all read things with blinders, even when trying to confront something with an open mind. We come in with prior experience, certain doctrinal beliefs and moral values, and cultural differences. Can anything ever truly be looked at objectively?
Critical Theory has taught me that proponents for new criticism have said that we can. Readers can approach and analyze a text using only what is found within the text itself, using no outside sources, such as historical context, feelings, etc. Can the same be applied to ideologies? Ideologies in themselves generally appeal to a specific group of people. Applying this to my article, students (or faculty) who want to raise academic standards are generally those who don't feel challenged enough by the academic material and content available to them. Students who are struggling academically probably don't want to raise academic standards. However, this is where personal reactions come in to play. As an academic institution, Eastern has a responsibility to its students to provide and rigorous and challenging course of study, so that students might become well-rounded individuals. As a Christian institution, Eastern believes that it has the responsibility to help students who may be struggling in their academic work but who have the ability. I won't say anything more about this conflict (although I'm not saying that the two concepts are mutually exclusive) in this blog because it's not the direction in which I find myself wanting to go here, but I'll end with this: Oxford is a well-known, scholarly, academically rigorous institution that cultivates an environment meant to foster individual learning. Oxford is an undoubtedly successful institution.
Can I live up to its standards, or will I just serve to prove that Americans from institutions less rigorous than Harvard, Yale, and Stanford are as unintelligent and ignorant as they are believed to be? What message will I leave with this classy and renowned university?
Sounds like you have another great adventure to tell us all about Beth. I'll pray you never have a dull moment and that you get there and back safely! Te Amo Chica!
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