Day: March 7, 2010

Moments in My Favorite Class

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So I have a favorite class.  About two weeks ago, we broke into groups to present ideas on a short story the teacher assigned us to read. My group was pretty big, and there was no way I was going to speak in front of the entire class, so I decided to lead the discussion and delegate speaking parts to other members of the group. They let me, and it was fun being in charge. I got them to determine who was speaking, about what, and in what order. Then they delivered, not because of anything I’ve done, but because they’re purely stellar students. But boy, it felt great when they payed attention when I spoke, asked questions, conversed with them. It was neat.

Last week we split into groups to have peer reviews of first drafts of a paper. The final drafts are due on Tuesday. After the teacher told us to group up, one classmate called out my name and said, “I want to be in your group. I like your clarity of thought.” Took me off guard. Apparently, he can decrypt my Mad Libs. The teacher overheard and more or less agreed with him. Took me off guard even more. Then two other students quickly sidled up and we had our quorum.  And I was worried about being able to find people to work with. I guess I got lucky. Anyway, we read each other’s papers aloud and provided feedback, and as far as academic experiences go, it was rather uplifting.

The teacher asked us if we were going to try to rewrite or revise our papers from the other classmates’ work. I thought about it and was getting ready to raise my hand, and then she said, “You might be surprised. You’re not going to. You like coming up with your own ways to express your own ideas.” She’s right, you know. The more I read, the more inspiration I find, but I’m also more apt and content to let authors rule completely over their domain. Maybe it’s respect for the author, maybe I’m just a big snob, and since nearly every original thought has been reworked and reincarnated a million different ways, I feel I’m preserving somehow the purity of an honest process by being less of a ripoff.

I could also be legitimately disillusioned.

The dream makes me happy.

Preparing Lunch Today

mayiwrite miscellany

I set a dirty Pyrex brownie pan on the left back burner – I didn’t use it, and I wasn’t going to wash it – then I put a pot of water on the left front burner, and then I turned on the stove.

I went back to my room to finish listening to some scriptures online and return a few text messages.

Then something exploded. It was kind of loud.

I walked out to the kitchen. The left back burner glowed red, and the brownie pan was no longer on top of it. I turned off the stove and started sweeping up all the glass shards and splinters from the floor, counter and kitchen sink. The roommate whose pan it was came home, and she started picking up pieces across the kitchen from the living room carpet. War zone.

I’m really glad I was in my room. I’m glad no one else was out in the common area when it happened.

But I felt/feel really bad about it.

It was pretty stupid.

Things on My Mind Right Now

mayiwrite miscellany, my life ,

– I need a boyfriend.

– The symbolism of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and the circumstances around which the Lord covenanted with Abraham. This just happens to be what we are probably discussing in Sunday School.

– My weight in Provo compared to sea level and the summit of Mt. Everest. They say being at the top of the world’s highest mountain wouldn’t alter one’s weight very much, just a decrease of 0.28%. That’s less than a quarter pound for me. So my weight in Happy Valley is even closer to true. Hmm.

– A pretty massive headache.

I’ve had a pretty decent week, full of lots of writing and reading, preparing for midterms, time with friends.

I took a few more pictures. I should post those.

Later, though. I have to get ready for church.