What I have written, I have written
I managed to get all my essays written as of yesterday evening, and off to the prof by mail today. So I'm crawling out from under my rock and announcing to my four or five faithful readers, "I'm back." As usual, I took the entire year allowed to finish my latest Jewish Studies course, even though there's no reason why I couldn't do it in six months instead and save myself a great deal of anxiety. But my mind becomes amazingly clear with a deadline looming over my head ...
I thought I would feel more relieved than this, and it's nice to have it done, but now I get to wait about a month and a half to find out what grade I have earned. Last time I thought I was optimistic to hope for a B, but I actually got an A-. That course (Biblical Israel) was more interesting to me than the one I just completed, so I wouldn't be surprised if I don't do as well this time. I'll hope for a B again, and see what happens. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised once again. I guess it's because I know in my heart that I could have conceivably written better essays than I did. As long as I learn something and progress onward, that's enough for me. What I have written, I have written, as Pilate said. I daydream of being done with the core courses and getting on with my concentration area. I'd like to focus on the literature of the post-exilic era (late prophets, Apocrypha, Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, etc.), but at my current rate of progress that won't be until the year 2010. But I press on ... One consolation - I personally think that my essays are at least as good, if not better, than this student in the same program who has posted his essays here (click this text). And apparently he completed the program successfully.
Years ago, in my first undergrad year, I was struggling with a philosophy essay that I needed to get in the next day, I was running into a mental block, I felt a bit ill, so I called Mom, who taught me a great lesson. She said, "what's something you can write down about the subject?" I came up with something. She said, "write it down!" She asked me, "what's something else to say?" I came up with something to add. She said, "write it down." It worked. That essay wasn't a work of genius, but it got the job done - I think I got a B or B+ on it. So I call it "Mom's Method." Think of something to write. Write it down. Move on. It works every time.
I thought I would feel more relieved than this, and it's nice to have it done, but now I get to wait about a month and a half to find out what grade I have earned. Last time I thought I was optimistic to hope for a B, but I actually got an A-. That course (Biblical Israel) was more interesting to me than the one I just completed, so I wouldn't be surprised if I don't do as well this time. I'll hope for a B again, and see what happens. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised once again. I guess it's because I know in my heart that I could have conceivably written better essays than I did. As long as I learn something and progress onward, that's enough for me. What I have written, I have written, as Pilate said. I daydream of being done with the core courses and getting on with my concentration area. I'd like to focus on the literature of the post-exilic era (late prophets, Apocrypha, Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, etc.), but at my current rate of progress that won't be until the year 2010. But I press on ... One consolation - I personally think that my essays are at least as good, if not better, than this student in the same program who has posted his essays here (click this text). And apparently he completed the program successfully.
Years ago, in my first undergrad year, I was struggling with a philosophy essay that I needed to get in the next day, I was running into a mental block, I felt a bit ill, so I called Mom, who taught me a great lesson. She said, "what's something you can write down about the subject?" I came up with something. She said, "write it down!" She asked me, "what's something else to say?" I came up with something to add. She said, "write it down." It worked. That essay wasn't a work of genius, but it got the job done - I think I got a B or B+ on it. So I call it "Mom's Method." Think of something to write. Write it down. Move on. It works every time.
1 Comments:
Reading your commentary, I can't help but hum a song by Bette Midler. No matter what grade you get, brother, you are the wind beneath my wings.....
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