Fall 2017, my first fall quarter at WWU... I was signed up for 15 credits and was looking forward to all of my classes. I was taking Qualitative Research Methods in Anthropology, Religion and Culture, and The Indian in American History. The first two were anthropology classes and in the 300-level, the third was a history class in the 200-level. And once again, the one 200-level class in my schedule was more work and more stress than my two 300-level classes combined. How does this keep happening? I really do not understand this phenomenon...
I was a little nervous about my qualitative methods class at the start of the quarter. I didn't really have any idea how it was going to go. What I was looking forward to was the fact that I had heard that you work on just one research project the whole quarter long. I had never gotten to do that before. I was looking forward to getting to see a project through from beginning to end, spending time on every aspect instead of focusing on just one like I had in other classes. I was not disappointed. There was a bit of textbook reading and instruction, but the professor really wanted us all to have plenty of time to practice what we were in the class to learn. He gave us chances to re-do work we messed up for more credit, because he (rightly) did not see how just getting a grade without having a chance to learn how to do it right would be at all beneficial. Smart man... When the time came to choose research topics, the class voted on a bunch and narrowed it down to five. When we were supposed to get with the groups, my top choice topic's group was already full. The area of the room the group was to meet in just happened to be where a bunch of people who were interested already happened to be sitting. Great. Then I went to the group with my second choice topic, it too was already full. Spectacular... In the end I ended up in a group that was researching a topic I had no interest in whatsoever. This topic was so unpopular, that the three people who missed class that day got automatically assigned to it, since everything else was full and this group had plenty of room...
The group choice process ended up being a blessing in disguise though. See, the groups were huge, seven people each. Coordinating work in a group project with three or four people is hard enough, but seven?! I wasn't particularly optimistic. Anyway, through the grace of God and a lot of weird circumstances, I ended up with the best group of people I have ever worked on a project with. Everyone was engaged and actively seeking to do their part. Not one person slacked off or expected other people to do their work. Everyone was working so well, that each of us, at one point or another, felt like we weren't doing enough and kept trying to find more work! This group project was a completely unique experience. I hope that I find myself in a similar group in the future, but based on past experience, I'm not holding my breath... In the end, we finished all our work early and turned it in the week before finals, leaving us free of work from that class as we focused on finals for other classes.
My Religion and Culture class was fascinating. It was the experience that I had hoped to have in that class my first quarter at the school. You remember, the one that made me want to scream in frustration on a regular basis... No? Well, read through some of my old posts if you are interested... One thing that it had in its favor was the fact that nobody mentioned Marx, not even once. Hallelujah! While there was a lot of reading, like, a LOT, the lecture and discussion was engaging and informative. The information was really cemented and it made the readings easier to get through. The professor was and is a hoot! She has been working at the school for decades and attended the school as an undergrad herself, so she was pretty much the ultimate example of a WWU anthropologist. She knows the program, faculty, administration, etc. like the back of her hand and was always happy to help anyone who was struggling in any way.
We got a good overview of the world's major religions as well as a few less well-known ones. We learned about the people who practiced them and the differences in those practices depending on where those practitioners were located. On Halloween, the professor casually donned a cape and witch's hat half-way through class and continued along as if nothing had happened. She was great at relieving tension during the discussion of potentially highly-charged topics. She is fantastic and I am glad I know her.
My third, and most difficult class was the history class. Now, I have never taken a college-level history class, but I have learned a lot of history in my anthropology classes. The topic was in my minor and also one of my passions, so I thought that it would seem less like work. I was very wrong. I should have gotten a clue when I purchased my textbooks before the quarter, this class had three of them. In addition to those, we also had weekly online readings. The author of one of my textbooks quickly became my nemesis... Now, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I have a fairly extensive vocabulary. This one particular author was crazy. It felt like they wrote from a thesaurus, as though they were purposely trying to be impossible to understand. I had to look up at least one word per sentence. When I mentioned this to a couple of people who know me well, their response was along the lines of, "Really?! Wow. But you have such a broad vocabulary. You really had to look up that many words each time?" Yes, I did. On top of that, the whole voice of the book was one of anger and accusation. Every word dripped of it. So I was always frustrated when I read it, because I couldn't understand it, add in the emotion coming from the book itself, and, well... I love books. Other than my former chemistry book, there has never been one that actually tempted me to do it harm. I didn't give in with the chem book, it was expensive and I wanted to sell it when I was done. This book actually got chucked across the room on more than one occasion.
Every couple of weeks, the class had small group discussions about the readings and lectures. We had to prepare extensive papers in advance that had anywhere from 10 to 30 essay questions. So. Much. Reading and Work... I spent my 35th birthday, barely conscious. It was a discussion day and although I had been working on the paper for a week, I still had to stay up until 2 am to finish it. It was a pretty lousy birthday if I'm honest... Once again, my birthday fell within a couple of days of Thanksgiving, so, once again, everyone was busy. (I'm used to it though. This happens every couple of years.)That being the case, I spent the morning exhausted, trying to follow the discussion, then the afternoon watching Netflix. Woo-hoo!
The most difficult part of birthday had nothing to do with school or schedules. That week marked the 10-year anniversary of my grandpa's passing... Ten years ago, three days before my birthday (which fell the day before Thanksgiving), my last living grandparent left. He and I had been really close for as long as I can remember. I'm crying as I type this, I miss him so much. Gerald (Jay) Arthur Partlow was an amazing man. He was one of the most loving, gentle, strong, compassionate, intelligent people I have ever known. I think about him every day... 25 was a hard age for me. I was half-way to 50, single, lost my grandpa, was getting burnt-out at my job, and got my first cancer diagnosis. That was the year that depression and anxiety became a reality in my life but I didn't realize I needed to get help for another couple of years. I struggled every day to get out of bed, get through the day, and not completely lose my mind. It's funny, I didn't actually know that until I typed it just now, but yes, that was when my mental and emotional health really began to take a turn. As I mentioned before, I am doing pretty well in that area now. I can grieve, be sad, and yet not begin that downward spiral that I would have gotten caught in a couple of years ago. That's not to say that I don't have bad days, but I can see them coming now. I have a good support system that gives me a verbal slap when I need it, a comforting shoulder, a funny word... I am comfortable asking for the things I need on those days now, and that is what makes all the difference...
But I digress... Time to get back on topic.
The quarter came to a close and I was confident in all my classes but history. I studied for that exam until I could almost physically feel the pressure of the information I was cramming into my brain... I won't get my grades until the end of next week, and the wait is torture... The last few days off of school have been great though. I spent one day doing absolutely nothing that required effort, unless it was fun effort. I slept in, watched Netflix, played with my dog and cat, killed things in WoW, and ate mini-Twix. Since then, I have been working on a full-house scrub-down in preparation for the arrival of my brother and his girlfriend, who are staying here for Christmas. I have rearranged kitchen appliances, shopped for curtains and a rug, thrown away stuff that hasn't been used in years, and nearly killed myself falling when I was standing on the counter to reach something. I feel very accomplished. My back, on the other hand, feels very angry. Moving the refrigerator and carrying furniture and the microwave around has made it less than happy with my decisions.
I am all signed up for next quarter, I'm taking 16 credits. I have 5 credit; Introduction to Linguistics, two 4 credit classes; The Rise of Civilizations and The American Indian Experience, and I am doing a 3 credit independent study with my amazing Religion and Culture professor. This will be my first 400-level credit and I will be assisting her with her personal research. We have decided to call the class Sehome and Coast Salish Families: 1825-1925. I'm so excited! I get to assist in academic research that will (most likely) be published, on a topic I love! What is extra cool is that the families and cultures we are researching are the ones that are from right here. They are the people that inhabited the land under my feet for centuries before Europeans reached this part of the continent.
Wow, we are finally all caught up! My goal now, is to update weekly so that more I can provide more details of the life of a 30-something college student. Catch ya later!
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