My Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays begin at an ideal 11:30 in the morning when I go to World Civilization II. Though this class is in a lecture hall, there are not nearly enough students to fill it. My professor is very knowledgeable on the topics he covers, which I have found to be more interesting than Western Civilization because he talks about Africa, India, and other countries about which I have very rarely learned in the past. What makes the class even more bearable than the usual history class is my professor's tendency to go off on a story of his own experiences. He is very well travelled, and I have recently learned that he speaks Turkish because his specialty is Middle Eastern history. I consider this to be pretty nifty. We do not have any tests or quizzes until the final exam in May. We do, however, have three short papers that are due throughout the semester. They are each based on different books we are assigned to read, drastically ranging in topics and lengths. The fourth and final paper is not a brief one, but a lengthy paper on a topic of our choice. I am yet to decide what in the world (no pun intended) I am going to choose.
World Civ. ends at 12:20 and I usually grab some lunch in the cafeteria before my Philosophy class at 1:30. I had no idea what to expect for content of this class, so I found it (and still find it) to be interesting, though not exactly fascinating. My professor, not unlike the professor of my previous class, teaches using lecture. He describes many philosophical ideas brought about by the many philosophers of hundreds of years ago, i.e. Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Socrates, and a bunch of other guys with funny names and even funnier spellings. We discuss the different views on the gods and free will, as well as ideas of the origins of the world. This class has three short papers due throughout the semester, the final of which is a dialogue between two characters representing two different philosophers' views on a subject. There are also three reasonably simple exams. It is difficult to firmly grasp each belief of each philosophy, but it is nonetheless interesting to learn about what ideas people had for creation and such.
After Philosophy ends at 2:20, I am done with classes for the day. On Mondays, however, I have Le Moyne College Singers rehearsal from 6:30-8:00. Our theme for the year as been songs from movies, but our music for this semester is for a concert entitled "Favorite Things". It will not only feature the Singers, but also a number of soloists doing songs from shows and movies. We are planning on using some costumes and choreography to enhance entertainment of this performance, so I am quite excited. The concert is the 8th, 9th, and 10th of April.
My Tuesdays and Thursdays are a bit more rigorous, but I also enjoy them much more. I oh-so-cleverly call them my "Major Days" because they include classes for my English and Theatre Arts majors. They begin at a bright and early 10:00 with Fundamentals of Design. This is a theatre class about set designs in theatre productions. It is a lot of work, but is probably the most useful and rewarding class I have ever taken. Though many would not think it seems relevant for everyday life knowledge, for a theatre kid, it is simply splendid. The class focuses on three large projects, each with "smaller" assignments due every week, though there are hardly small assignments. For example, I have a 3-dimensional model of my dorm room due for class tomorrow. It is in 1/4" scale, so it is pretty small, but I am quite proud of it. We also have reading assignments from a book about theatre and drawing assignments so we can improve our skills at getting our ideas down on paper. I also have to draw an apple with proper shading for tomorrow's class.
Right from Fundamentals, which ends at 11:15, I go to Critical Perspectives on Literature for a 11:30 class. The professor of this class is a self-proclaimed strict teacher, but she also guarantees that, even if you get a lot of not-so-great grades, as long as you try in the class, you will be able to pull off at least a B. She gives a quiz almost every class based on the reading of the night before, which is usually a chapter in the text book and several poems/short stories. In class, we discuss a few poems thoroughly, usually with a lot of my professor talking to us and asking us questions. We just handed in papers written about a short story we read. It was a challenging assignment in some ways because she did not actually assign a topic; we had to choose what aspect of the story we would write about for a length of our choice. I truly enjoy the class, however, reminding me why I added English to my major.
After Literature ends at 12:45, I usually go to lunch and often take a nap, followed by Stagecraft at 2:30. This class is taught by the same professor as my Fundamentals of Design class, and I was greeted with expressions of awe and worry when I told any theatre students that I was taking both of his classes during the same semester. He is infamous for assigning lots of work. However, I cannot say that I have ever really regretted taking these classes at the same time. Although my nights before Tuesdays and Thursdays are very late, when I finish an assignment, I have something of which to be proud. Stagecraft is a class about the technical aspects of theatre, such as lighting and sound, and the basics of actually building a set. We spent two classes getting our hands on massive power tools and learning how to use them. This is quite practical.
Once Stagecraft ends at 3:45, I am done with classes for the day. However, my time has been/will be occupied beyond classes. Though Emma's Child just closed, where I played a pregnant birthmother in a short but charming little scene, I will be operating lights for the Major Arcana production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. This will be in mid- to late March.
So that pretty much describes my life thus far in my second semester of college. We get our housing packets tonight, enabling us to choose housing in a few weeks. However, my main focus right now is getting through the week to March break. I'll be in RI on Saturday and I cannot wait! Before that, however, I get to see Leah! I am sure there will be pictures.
Peace, out, loves.
