December 2004

Gillian Woodburn • I Can Do It

It seems as if the learning curve was a little steeper this year than in the past. For the first two weeks of class I felt like I didn’t understand half of what my teachers were saying. I just frantically tried to keep up with the notes and hope that once we got the problem sets assigned I’d have a better idea of where we were going. Fortunately, after a couple weeks, we either switched to easier material or my brain finally warmed up because things started making sense.

On the negative side, all my big homework assignments ended up getting assigned at the same time. All four of my classes had a big project due on the same day. In that one week, I think I did more work than I normally do in an entire semester. As the week went on, I got less and less sleep, and by Friday morning, anyone in my classes who’d slept more than three hours was way ahead of the game.

It was a relief to know that everyone else was doing all the work, too, though. The other good thing about that horrendous week was the feeling of accomplishment when I handed in my inorganic lab report, my last assignment due. I worked like crazy and put just about every spare moment into homework. But I did it. I finished every assignment, handed everything in on time. And, though it wasn’t all perfect, I’m satisfied with how much effort I put into everything.

It almost doesn’t matter what grades I get, as this experience has made me a lot more confident in myself. It’s nice to know that I’m capable of working that hard. No matter how much work I have to get done, I know now that I really can do it all.

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