Real Life, by Dana Clark
Thursday, October 30, 2003

Reading my life away...

click to view

Well, it’s been midterms here on campus. And although I was blessed with only one actual test, it’s still been a very stressful time. In addition to my one midterm exam, I had two papers due and a chapter test in my language class (Russian). Needless to say, I’ve been working endlessly on midterm assignments, as well as trying to sneak in a life on the weekends.

Also, I’m beginning to feel the pressure of the second half of the semester. It seems like all of the reading is finally catching up to me right now. I have not gotten more than four hours of sleep in one night in a long time, mainly because my study habits are truly lacking. This is especially stressful for me as a transfer student. It should be a cakewalk by now, as I have two years of schooling under my belt. However, at my last school the reading load was considerably lighter than here. Lewis and Clark classes are very reading intensive, and now in our ninth week I’m beginning to feel the pressure. If anything, this has been the first time since I got here that I’ve felt the strain of transitioning into a new school – although I know the college game rather well, I’m learning that not every school is the same, and trying to change my college study habits is proving to be difficult.

But, on a lighter note, my classes are going rather well. I feel confident that I’m doing well as far as grades are concerned. I got an A on my only midterm, which made me really ecstatic. And, as usual, there has been no end of fun and exciting things to keep me from being a good student. For instance, this past Saturday, Jonah, Danny and I took the free shuttle down to Pioneer Square. For those of you who haven’t visited Portland, Pioneer Square is fancy for “downtown.” We walked to Everyday Music, which is a great new and used music store on Burnside. After that, we had fun with my camera while we waited an hour for the shuttle back to campus. I’ve included the best of these pictures to your right!

Other than school work and trips on the shuttle, I’ve been anxiously awaiting Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday! Several of us Lewis and Clark students plan to head to the midnight live showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which should prove to be very exciting. They will also be showing the movie on campus tomorrow night; I will take pictures at one or both and be sure to include them in a future post! Till then… have a wonderful Halloween, and all that jazz!