College

Ah, second semester begins Tuesday. I am excite.

I'm going to retake the class I was just in. I'll do it right this time.

Whew, just got a response from my Master advisor and apparently what I thought was a real pain to write about is actually super difficult. Faith in own abilities: restored.

Today, the day after I decided to have a friend set up an obstacle-blocking ritual (re: magic spell) for help with finally getting my fucking degree after like, three years of struggling with my math requirements: I found out that I've been taking so long to get done with math that I got temporarily disqualified for financial aid.

I already think that the magic spell was a good investment.

FUCK. YOU. MATH.

edited 23rd Jan '16 2:50:39 PM by Sharysa

<- Studied math

My major is theater and it should have only taken two semesters to get my two elementary/intermediate algebra classes for general education. But no, I keep fucking failing at it.

And worse, I THINK I've done at least okay on it. Sometimes I have that false security allllll the way until the grades come in and LOL YOU GOT A D/F TIME TO RETAKE THE CLASS.

If my general-ed math requirements were RELATED to theater, like business/finance or something like that, I'd be a lot more motivated. But algebra's just this random piece of knowledge about graphing and equations that I don't know how to contextualize in any part of my life. Social science? "Psychology is awesome for acting AND writing, whoo!" Physical science? "Geography! WORLDBUILDING AND FANTASY IDEAS FOR WRITING, WHOO!" Art? "PERFORMING ARTIST DOES SOME FINE ART ON THE SIDE, WHOO!" Math? "..."

edited 24th Jan '16 12:22:15 PM by Sharysa

Private economy? Savings, debts, budgets, loans, taxes and expenses?

Slowly getting used to 9am starts again.

The problem is that I'd have to get through Intermediate algebra BEFORE I can take all those awesome life-related parts of math.

I don't know what to tell you. If you don't like algebra now you still won't like it even when it gets flavored with tbose applications.

It's when you look at math as an artistic and puzzle-solving field rather than just a computer to mechanically feed calculations that you appreciate it.

Someone mentioned that math in general is more like a language than a bunch of equations and processes, because they put the shitty education methods into the context of learning language.

People learn languages in these stages: 1) Common words and phrases, 2) Learning grammar and syntax, and then 3) Working on untranslated works. Apparently math education either skips Stage 1 or barely touches on it. Then the vast majority of our math education is spent on Stage 2, but we never actually see the true Stage 3 mathematics aside from the odd "sentence" or two.

And I'm like, "well, shit, that makes math seem pretty cool. I still hate it for now, but I'll try to NOT hate it this semester."

edited 26th Jan '16 4:10:57 PM by Sharysa

Back in college again but I'm actually majoring in what I want this time: ART!

I wish I had done this sooner because what do I do in class? DRAW. And what do I do for homework? DRAW. I literally grin whenever I break out my sketchbook and pencils, even when what I turn out looks horrible (hi, blind contour drawing!). Homework doesn't feel like work. Except the buying supplies part. That part is not fun AT ALL, even with student discounts.

My creative writing class is tough as I've still got writer's block—but the kind where whatever I write looks like shit to me even though other people think it's not bad.

I know that feeling.

Presented my Master project today. Got a lot of positive feedback, and my advisor said that I've got a real talent for research.

...unfortunately, he also told me that there's no money for a researcher on the area. So I'll have to start searching and applying for jobs outside of academia. Which is a bummer, because my hope (and his) had been to go straight to working on a PhD. There's gonna be a short-term teaching position, but I've got no teaching experience. So I'd better just start looking. At least I have good grades.

Still fighting along with the capstone, and learned that the one extra test my class got unluckily sicked upon can be scheduled for anytime before the end of the semester. Nonetheless, megaton project nearing its last legs.

I start college at COTC in May.

Here is something from the Insecurity thread.

Hmmm...I am wondering if it would be a good idea to major in Psychology. Although it seems like a lot of people are going into that field right now so maybe that's not the best idea despite my general liking of the subject...

Should I major in creative writing? People say I'm talented, so...

Been a week now since I handed in a complete draft of my Master thesis to my advisor for feedback. Still no feedback. Getting real nervous, not gonna lie.

I wouldn't, personally. I majored in writing, then the arts and cinema before dropping out. In my experience, a degree in something a little more practical has more merit. Art you can do on your own time. Though, that's just my opinion. You can definitely major in writing and have a blast, because it is.

As someone with a certificate in creative writing, I will say this:

The only thing that you will benefit from majoring in creative writing is that you will be taking a lot of classes where you will have your work peer-reviewed and get a plenty of feedback, which is what is possibly the most important thing when developing a career in writing or any kind of art.

Now, if you know enough people around you, both on and off line, that you can rely for constructive feedback, you honestly don't need to major in creative writing.

In fact, you are better off with more practical, but relevant to writing fiction, such as psychology, economics, history, etc.

O.K.! Thanks a lot, guys. Psychology sounds good. I'll check it out.

One word of warning.

Where job prospects are concerned, psychology is pretty useless in bachelor level.

However, if you manage to get a Ph.D in it, especially in counseling, it becomes very lucrative.

So how do you learn how to be a creative writer?