Can't catch a break

I must be a crappy teacher magnet. Another semester of self-teaching. My micro professor is all over the place! I have been leaving the lectures early because I can't follow this guy. More than half of my class is getting tutored. I've thought about it, but I really want to do this on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do this, that I'm smart enough to handle it. However, I'm extremely nervous that this semester is going to ruin my 3.8 GPA. It's been extremely difficult to focus and not just because of my teacher. The semester started off really crappy outside of school as well. September was not the greatest month for me. Two friends that I grew up with passed away within three days. One was a motorcycle accident and the other was a car accident. On top of all that, our neighbor has moved. This was upsetting to Tony and I because we have formed a bond with him over the last year, even more so over the summer. Tony and I even think of him as an uncle. He's like that really cool uncle who lets you get away with everything. It's been quiet around here without him. Drinking beers hasn't been the same since he left. I just can't seem to catch a break. Sigh.

Hard work really does pay off

Ever since final exams ended exactly one week ago, I had been checking my email like crazy waiting for my final A&PII grade. I was scared and anxious to know all at the same time. Finally, on Wednesday, the email had arrived. I was at work and extremely nervous to open it in fear that I would be in a bad mood the rest of the day if I got a bad grade. We all know how important my grades are to me. I decided to open it anyways. I needed to know so that I could get rid of the 50 pound weight that was still resting heavily on my shoulders. I closed my eyes as I clicked on the email. I felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. I opened my eyes and began to read:

"Hi Stacie

Your grade for the Final Exam was 85.1%, which counts twice.

Your grade for the second Practical was 91.8%.

The grade that was dropped was the 82.5 on the first practical.

Your final grade for the course is an A. Excellent job. I greatly enjoyed you and your class.

Good luck in the future,

Prof. Caulkins"

I was so happy and so relieved that I started to cry. All the studying, last minute cramming, and never ending stress this summer had finally paid off.

Next up.. Microbiology. Bring it on!

Never again

Never again will I take a class, such as A&PII, over the summer! The semester ended yesterday, so I'm not sure of my official grade in the class. However, I do know that I am not thrilled with the grade I got on the final exam, but I will take it.. considering I don't really have a choice in the matter. I just expect more than an 85 from myself. I am officially exhausted from this semester's finals week. Last semester my hair was falling out, this time I couldn't stop losing weight. I lost 4.5 pounds in a matter of 72 hours, without trying. By the time I walked out of the lab practical last night, I felt as though I was going to collapse. I let out a nice big sigh of relief knowing that I didn't have to take another test.. for at least two weeks until fall semester starts. Now to wait for final grades to come rolling in.

no more quizzes

I didn't make it to class last night thanks to my lovely immune system that is constantly letting me down. I've been sick since the begining of the week and continued to go to work and school. I didn't give myself enough time to rest. I sent my teacher a last minute email a couple hours before class started. I'm sure she'll understand. She has two little kids at home and I'm sure she wouldn't want to bring my germs home to them.
Tuesday night my A&PII teacher gave us some good news. No more quizzes! And if we do have any more they will be take home quizzes. But we still have our exam this up coming Tuesday. Sigh.

taking the bad to get the good

Recently I had two papers to write for my human growth and development class (HG&D). My teacher allows us to use resources, whether it's the news, magazines, internet, or encyclopedia. However, with this class, resources are not my style. She told us in the begining that the class will be about opinions. And people who know me well enough know just how opinionated I am or can be. The first paper we got to choose one topic out of the four she gave us. None of them really interested me, but I ended up going with "Having two parents is always better than having one." We had to agree or disagree with whatever topic we chose. I pulled off an A- with that paper. At the bottom of my essay she wrote, "Resources?" I'm assuming that's why I got the A- and not an A, but I wrote my paper strictly based on my own thoughts and perspectives. I was tempted to question my grade, but then I realized that after my B- lab practical, an A- is acceptable. The second paper we had to choose a side. "Do parents matter more than peers?" This one was easy for me. And once again I based it on my own opinions as well as my own life experiences. I'm thinking that my own life experiences is what got me an A. I'm still not happy with my lab practical grade. But, if I have to get one so-so grade to get two good grades, I guess I can live with that.

try harder next time

I am slacking with this blog, big time! These summer classes keep me insanely busy! Keeping up with A&P II seems almost impossible. I'm not doing nearly as well as I'd like, but some how I am managing to keep my head above water. I did great on the first exam. The exam I didn't know about until ten minutes before class when one of my classmates mentioned that he thought we had an exam that day. I pulled out the class outline and sure enough.. exam 1. I just about fainted when I read that! I hadn't studied for it at all. So I pulled out my notes and briefly went through whatever I could before it was time to actually take the exam. I don't know how I did it, but I was able to pull a 92.5 out of my butt! And my teacher gave us a chance for extra credit to bring our exam grades up a few points. Whatever questions we got wrong, we were able to correct them for half the points of whatever the questions were worth. But we also had to give a small explanation as to why or how our new answer is the correct one. So I was able to bring my grade up to a 95.
Recently, we just had our first lab practical. I was pretty sure that I had failed it, but then again I say or think that about every quiz, test, or exam that I take. We got our grades back a few days ago. I didn't fail it, but I'm not exactly thrilled with my grade. Sure an 82.5 is still passing... but it's not an A. It's not what I am used to. I was told yesterday at work by one of the nurses that I need to get over it (being upset with my grade) real quick. At first I was kind of angered by what was said to me, but the more I thought about it, the more she was right. I can't keep dwelling on every so-so grade that I get. I need to accept it, move on, and try harder next time.

Mental Health Week

I'm on vacation! Not that I have anywhere exciting to go or anything special to do. I put in for vacation thinking that I would be working bike week again this year, until I signed up for summer classes. Knowing how important it is that I hurry up and finish school, I decided to skip out on bike week after my vacation had already been approved. I tried to take it back but the nurse who does the schedule wouldn't let me. She told me that I work really hard and now with the added stress of school I need to atleast use this as a mental health week. I suppose she is right. I'm just not sure what to do with myself. I can only study for so long before I start to go crazy. And since it IS bike week the weather has been rainy and crappy so I can't even go to the beach and relax. Today I get to pick my brother up from work in an hour and then take him with me to go visit our grandparents. Then when I drop him off at home I have to bring one of my mom's dogs to the groomer and pick him up when he's ready. Then I get to come back home and do some laundry and cleaning... then some more studying. Something tells me that this vacation is going to be a waste of earned time.