In my previous article on my experience with online classes two months ago, I wrote: “Now I’m taking four Classics Studies classes online. While I, unfortunately, do not have much to say about them all individually as I only just started this week, I can say the routine for it has been exceedingly lovely! Especially compared to my previous schedule of waking up at 5 a.m. to catch a bus at six in frigid, winter weather. The new routine: Wake up. Get dressed in some cozy sweats or a comfy hoodie. Fix myself the giant glass of iced coffee I know will easily last me the day, and hole myself in my home office with a space heater purring by my feet.”
Fast-forward to the present with me cracking a joke to my mom: “I’ve been here five semesters, and how is it only now I feel like I’m actually doing work?” As I feel the bags under my eyes like two pairs of fists slowly digging themselves into my face, I stay up every night until midnight to cram as much reading and studying into the day whilst juggling the rest of my life between other familial obligations. To save what little scraps of my sanity I have left, I have taken to coming to campus daily to not only better focus but get stuff done with less distractions than I have at home.
All joking aside, this update is anything but a joke. Due to some personal revelations, I have now finally accepted that I’m probably not going to make the Dean’s List, but you know what? I’m still trying, even if all it looks like I’m doing most days is sitting at my desk in my home office, trying not to go insane and getting all but perfect grades.
I’ve accepted the fact I may even not end my last semester on any kind of high and mighty grade list that doesn’t really get you a lot anyway, other than the satisfaction of having done something with the semester for once. However, that doesn’t stop me from having some sort of goal for my grades even this late into the semester. It’s crazy, but it keeps things interesting and gives me something to aim at. So now, I’ve made my own ‘Dean’s List’: see if I can get my highest GPA yet. To be honest, it’s a miracle that I’ve been maintaining my 3.0 GPA semester after semester.
On the bright side, I did find out that I do get at least a two-week break with no classes before I start my summer course so I can finally call myself a Classics Studies minor. Considering I haven’t slept properly for at least a good handful of weeks now, I’m pretty much basically distracting myself with homework to keep myself busy until I graduate: my light at the end of the tunnel.
But maybe you can’t handle my crazy ambition. So, please, try not to if you can’t. If you’ve made it this far in your own classes, congratulations! There’s only a month and a half of this hamster wheel left! If you haven’t, there’s still time to take a Pass or Fail depending on your major or minor and the class you are taking, as the deadline is April 19. I should mention that there is nothing wrong with taking the class if you have to take it and still want to enjoy the content of the class with some peace of mind. I’ve even thought of taking it a couple times for some of my classes during the semester, before I found out that I might be unable to because of my pending minor as a Classics Studies. Granted the right state of mind, I’ve found that grades are both a curse and the perfect motivator with just the right sort of adrenaline to keep you going through the semester.