Journal Entry 24

I know you are a busy woman. If you only watch one more thing I send please watch the above video. I even promise not to send anymore if you JUST WATCH THIS ONE. You may have seen it before, if so, still take a moment to enjoy it.

I have been complaining about how tired I've been during the past several weeks of school, test after test, finals coming up and late nights of study. My best friend Ryan, father of two, shared this video with me about a year ago. Tonight I embrace the homework I will be doing until 1 or 2 AM as a privilege and not a chore.

1. Write about the most challenging course you are taking this semester.

This past semester the most challenging course I have taken is Developmental Writing. Since I am hardly ever at a loss for an opinion or words, I thought this would be a breeze. It has been far from it. In addition to being tough the teacher has done very little to engage us in class, not my best learning style. I like lecture, being engaged, pondering theory and looking for solution. This particular class is read a chapter, take a test - over and over. The only time she will talk to us is if we fail a test, she will give us a few moments of her time at her desk before we retake the test.

The textbook we use is adequate but far from what I could consider exploding with information to spark the brain. I often go to the Internet or other books for much needed additional information. Despite these challenges, and some shaky ground during the past semester, I think I may make a low A in the class. I can easily see how a younger Kevin would have given up.

2. Using what you know about the way you prefer to learn, write about choices you can make that will help you learn this challenging subject more easily.

I guess to answer the above question, I look back and realize that where the teacher fell short for my learning style, I picked up the slack. I needed to ask questions and be engaged, so I did it myself with the Internet and additional reading. I needed to think beyond what the text offered so I went outside of the textbook. I turned to friends and had conversations about adverbs, dangling modifiers and prepositional phrases. Had I not pushed myself to do this, I am sure I would be retaking this class this coming fall.

The man in the video above died mid year of 08. He accomplished many things in his personal and professional life and fully embraced his death with a smile and open arms. He woke up to the same sunshine we all do, went to bed with the same moon - and sat on the toilet daily. WE ARE ALL EQUAL, it is the choices we make on a daily basis, a moment by moment basis that make us different.