Finals are done and now it is time to relax and reflect about what I subjected myself to for the past few months.
The workload isn't as terrible as I was expecting it to but I was taking Gen Eds with some courses that pertain to my major. There was work but I didn't feel the class work was overwhelming. The readings were fairly easy to keep up with. So far I am pretty proud of how I did. Yeah a few finals I feel I could have done better on but I now know what to expect in the future.
I also realized most folk on campus generally do not want to be bothered. Occasionally I hear a hello from people I go to class with but I am generally left alone and give the others the same courtesy. It can feel lonely at times but I usually distract myself with keeping up on my readings while trapped on campus. I don't see this pattern changing in the spring semester either and I think I'm ok with that.
As for the professors I don't think I could have asked for a better group of educators for my reintroduction back into academia. All were professional, passionate about their work and the fields they are experts in and each was very personable and willing to talk and assist with concerns. A few of the professors I'll be looking to take more courses they offer in the future because of the rapport I built over the semester.
As for my fellow students most as good people. I have noticed over the course of the semester that a large majority of young adults straight out of high school have no capacity for a healthy skepticism. None. Everything is either black or white, good or bad. It is the lightswitch mentality (on or off) with these kids and it is pointless trying to engage them in discourse as the arguments are just wastes of time. Everything is taken at face value with no desire or consideration to examine/question what is in front of them. This is pretty damn distressing and frankly worrisome. I will keep an eye on this as my college career continues and see if I notice as change as they get older and experience more.
So now I'm off until late January and feel I've earned it. I can't wait until my spring semester to see what new stuff I get to learn there and how I will apply what I have learned in conjunction.
The biggest thing I have learned from this experience so far is I can do this. I can do this and I am enjoying this as well.
