Day #8032 - Back in the Saddle

Don't worry, readers. For those of you who have met me and my incredible clumsiness, never fear - I am speaking figuratively, not literally. I am not actually talking about riding horses (though that would be a fun time). I'm referring to the fact that the dawn of a new school year is upon us once again. Or at least, upon me.

Though my classes don't actually start meeting until next Tuesday, I've been spending this week doing all of the required reading that has to be completed prior to each of the first lectures. Who ever thought I'd be grateful for homework? The start of the school year is perfectly timed, because I have just about gotten to the point where I was running out of ideas of how to fill my days productively, especially given my lack of employment at the moment.

And this time, I'm determined to do better. My summer class and 10-day boot camp down in Champaign showed me several things about this program. For starters, this is NOT undergrad - the readings are longer, more challenging, and the professors will be expecting much more of me. Secondly, this really is something I want to excel at. I never took notes on the readings for my summer class, and that was a mistake. By the time I got to campus, all the different articles felt like they had melted into one big confusing puddle in my head. But not this time. This time, I will be organized. Finally, my focus and attention levels need to stay high. Starting next week, I will be going to the library to do my school work. Quiet, big tables, and not being able to wander to the refrigerator every time I'm tired of reading is exactly what I need.

In other news, I'm 100 pages into book 5 (Order of the Phoenix) in my Harry Potter reading marathon. Those 2 days of being sick really threw me off my game, but I think I may still have a shot. It'll be close and maybe it's not going to happen, but if I finish the series before my birthday ends Monday at midnight, I'll consider this a rousing success haha