My FINAL Classes as an Undergraduate!

Many of you have asked about my classes thus far, knowing that I am in my last semester and will soon graduate with my bachelors. (At last!) So, I thought I would make a post of it and let you guys know what I have been up to the last two weeks.

I have a rather simple schedule. On Mondays, I have Advanced Creative Writing and Shakespeare. On Tuesday, I have World Literature. On Wednesday, I have Advanced Creative Writing again and Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. And, on Thursdays, I have World Literature again. All in all (like I have mentioned before) it’s a lot of reading and a lot of writing, but I have enjoyed just about every minute of it. I don’t even mind the 3 ½ hour breaks I have on Mondays and Wednesdays in between my classes. That time is where I get a lot of my reading done in the small (sometimes quiet) library. (NOTE: Today I picked a study table right next to the pencil sharpener. BIG MISTAKE! You'd think people would have discover PENS by now!)

Anyway, I wrote up a quick questionnaire for myself to help share my semester so far.

Class descriptions:

·         Advanced Creative Writing- The class is basically a forum for students (and other older members of the community who are taking it as a no-credit class) who are particularly serious about their own writings and the writings of others. The assignments are very open. The professor usually assigns a topic or gives a prompt for anyone who wants it, but if we prefer to work on our own project we can do that instead (as long as we have confirmed it with the professor beforehand.) Mondays are usually considered a draft day. We discuss our reading from the book “Deepening Fiction” by Sarah Stone and Ron Nyren (usually something on character development, writer’s block, giving and receiving feedback, etc). Then, volunteers read the manuscripts they have brought in and we critique them as a class. Anyone who did not get the chance to be critiqued has copies made of their work and it is passed out among a few of the other students to be reviewed on Wednesday.

·         Shakespeare- What can I really say about a Shakespeare class? It’s pretty straight forward. We watch a movie of the play, read the play on our own, write journals about our reading once a week, and then we discuss it in class. A few essays are sprinkled in here and there. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoy Shakespeare, the class is just normal.

·         World Literature- I have done almost every literature class on the planet. (Not really, but it feels like it.) I have taken Early American Lit, Early British Lit, Medieval Lit, Contemporary British Lit, Environmental Lit, Author Study on Edgar Allen Poe, Literary Theory, and more. World Lit is run just like any other lit class, but world lit is a completely different realm. The politics in the stories are different, the writing styles vary, and a lot of the stories are translations. It’s a little strange, but I am getting used to it. It’s nice exploring different authors. At the end of the semester we will be reading “100 Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

·         Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature- This is by far my favorite class so far (and I have only been to it twice)! The professor is so into the content (having edited the anthology we are using) but also because he is just the biggest geek about it all. (In the best way, of course.) We are currently reading Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” which is so much better than I thought it would be. We also watch lots of movies. (THE ORIGINALS! NEVER THE REMAKES!) My professor seems like quite the purest. And our discussions are always very lively.

Best part: Conversations in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit. So many people are willing to talk. We bring up subjects like the end of the world, sea monsters from Atlantis, mad scientists that make robots to replace rebel leaders, contemporary genre fiction, silent films, etc. Just really interesting stuff, especially for someone that reads this kind of content anyway, and also loves to write it at the same time.

Worst part: The very first night, I lost my keys!!! I thought I had locked them in my car, but they weren’t there. It was after 9:00 PM, most of the class rooms were dark, all the offices were closed, only the library was open, but thankfully there was a security guard on call and he had actually received my keys from some kind soul that turned them in 3 hours before I even realized they were gone!!! I was so scared that I would have to call my parents who were undoubtedly already in bed and a 30-40 minute drive away! It could have been an utter disaster!!!

Favorite professor thus far? My Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit. Prof. He’s just such a freak about genre movies, shows, and books. He’s met so many different people (such as Andre the Giant, Ray Bradbury, and Stephen King!) He’s also hilarious and speaks very openly about “terrible remakes” and “the most awful, overrated, unoriginal movies with gangly blue people (ahem! Avatar.)”

Favorite reading so far? Frankenstein or A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Basically, any of the longer works. I’ve already had to read so many short stories and they’re just kind of blah! To me.

Something new I learned: Shakespeare did not write all of his works on his own. In fact, he had many corroborators, such as his entire theatre company and the government. I’ll explain further if this makes no sense. Also, many people theorize that he may not have existed at all because he just disappears, drops out of the records, for years at a time!

New people I have met: Well, I must explain one thing first. The STRANGEST people on this entire PLANET go to NMC. (Perhaps that says something about me!? Gasp!) But, no, seriously, some strange a** people go to this college! I don’t know what it is, but they all decided to just meet up and surround me. I said it when I was a freshman and going there and I say it again as a fifth year senior. I’m getting the feeling that you guys can’t even understand this. It’s just so STRANGE!!! There are a lot of “those” people here and they annoy the crap out of me. There’s just something off, that’s all I am saying. (I need to write a separate post about this. Be looking for that within the next week or so.) I can’t explain it!!!

Thoughts in general: Avoid the people (mostly) and I think this semester will be pretty okay. I’m not too worried about it and I can’t wait to graduate! YEAH!