August 23, 2007
I'm ready...
I am finally done with all my remaining projects! Of course, I am ecstatic. Now I get to concentrate on my research, and I have to say that makes me unbelievably happy. It has been a very long journey for me. I have lost loved ones, gotten divorced, dealt with single motherhood, and watched my girls grow up to be amazing young women. I have learned so many wonderful things, and I guess the best part is the realization that in many ways, the learning is also just beginning. I have joked before on here about the enormous responsibility of reading for exams, and how I am generally a terrible test taker, but there is something about acquiring immense amounts of knowledge that makes me feel peaceful about it. Oh, don't get me wrong- I know I will probably want to throw-up the day of the exam(s), but I can't help but wonder if the test anxiety I always feel will be somewhat different this time around. There has got to be comfort in knowing that you have digested 150 or so books prior to that fateful day. And, I get to defend anything that might have been misunderstood or not clearly expressed. I don't know. But I am eager to find out!
The only thing that I do find really daunting is the creation of a monster works cited list! I have purchased Endnote X, and I am hoping that it is all that is promises to be. If not, maybe they'll just lend me a typist.
Oh, yeah, like I said in the title...I'M READY!
Posted by dvaldesd at 08:29 PM | Comments (1)
November 15, 2005
Like Sands Through the Hourglass...
these are the days of our lives. Only the days are mixing together, and the time is coming up short. It is amazing that the reason we want to become scholars is our love of knowledge, but our journey requires some level of denial of the things we wish we could read the most. We need the acquisition of massive amounts of knowledge, but we want the “recreational reading”, or something like it. Today in class CGB told us that we need to take an hour a week to do some of those readings, or composing of bibliographies for our exams-something constructive that is not syllabi related. Now, I know that creating a bibliography ( especially for exams!) may not rock the foundation of the mundane, but believe me, when your time is filled with required readings, projects, grading, and the like, creating anything seems like decadent indulgence. The first thing I need to do is decide what areas I want my exams to be in. Since Latino/a Rhetoric is my baby, I think that perhaps an exam on critical race theory would be in order. I can imagine that the list for this exam will be quite long, since I am starting at ground zero, but there is something exciting about acquiring that level of expertise on the topic of your choice. The challenge for me will be in deciding which books I want to read, since time will again be of the essence…but I take pleasure in knowing that although I am but a sapling in the discipline I love, my roots are cemented enough for me to begin thinking about cultivating some very distinct branches. See, my level of creativity has already begun!
Posted by dvaldesd at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)