One Week and Counting!

So I only have one week left of my j-term class, and I am excited because it is almost time for the break! I am taking a philosophy class, and we are reading Plato's Republic. At first I did not really like it. The reading took me a long time to do because it was so complex and abstract, but I have started to get the hang of it. Plus the topics that we are discussing are starting to become more interesting to me. The downside is that I have a lot more homework than I thought I would. Every day I have about 70 pages of reading and then a 500 word response to write. On average it takes me between 2-3 hours to do my homework.

I have come to realize that people were wrong when they said j-term was a piece of cake. I think that the hardest part is having the motivation and willpower to actually sit down and do homework. The work itself isn't that bad, but getting started is the worst part. The problem is that people gave me the impression that j-term was easy and fun and that I would have a ton of free time. Boy were they wrong! And when my parents had J-term years ago at St. Bens and St. Johns, their classes were pass/fail. Not so at Luther! Since I started the term thinking that I would have endless hours of free time every day, it has been really difficult for me to switch gears and be productive and do homework. Even though many times j-term is a drag and I tend to feel overwhelmed more often than not, for the most part I like it.

The nice part about j-term is that there is a lot more time for socializing. My girlfriends and I are watching a lot more movies and chatting a lot more. However, it makes doing homework a lot harder. I am really busy this j-term because I am lifeguarding a lot, and I joined the track team, which means at least 2 hours of practice every day. By the time I am back in my room I just want to relax, but I can't because I have homework. It is more difficult to focus during j-term especially since my girlfriends don't get quite as much homework as I do and none of them are in a winter sport. They are all having more of the carefree j-term that I had anticipated for myself. Life is not fair!

Although I am enjoying my philosophy course, I am glad that it is only a month long because I have come to realize that I am much more of a science math person than I thought! Looking back I think that I will be very glad that I chose the j-term course that I did. Hopefully it will help make my transition into second semester a lot smoother. Only one week left. Can’t believe how fast the month has gone!