I have earned three A's over the course of the summer, so I hope that will suffice as a pretty good excuse for not being present here on this blog (two of the courses were taken concurrently during one summer session which equates to full-time student status, something I had not realized and lamented--nay, outright bitched and moaned about--daily). Two of the A's are for math.* That's right, M-A-T-H. I promised to explain why I had to catch an algebra train in a previous post, but then didn't have time to explain.
To sum up, the prerequisites that I need for the graduate program to which I am applying have prerequisites and I got bumped pretty far down the math and science ladder. (Turns out having two degrees in social sciences and cultural studies isn't enough to get into grad school.) Rather than complain about the math component, however, I just jumped in (okay, fine, I complained too).
Elementary algebra and intermediate algebra were first up on the docket to make me eligible to re-take statistics (only because my last stats grade on record--an A--is 15 years old and they want it no less than 5 years ago). I was nervous going in, but I quickly picked up on the rhythm and maneuvered my way through the courses with fairly smooth sailing.**
...and I just need to highlight this here...
I PRETTY MUCH TAUGHT MYSELF ALGEBRA OVER A 10-WEEK PERIOD AFTER IT HAD PLAGUED ME AS A BLEMISH ON MY PRETTY-DARN-NEAR-PERFECT RECORD FOR 20 YEARS.
(Taught myself = they were self-directed courses with tutors for assistance, no lectures; history = I got a D in algebra in high school and that was my last math class, despite A's in nearly every class that I liked in high school and college since then)
How happy was I to realize that I not only CAN do math, but also that I can do pretty well in it? Fly me to the moon, baby. Chemistry is next. (And stats, of course...)
*The other class was Medical Terminology, another online course. I actually read an entire textbook, cover to cover, in 5 weeks. Easy A, but a lot of work.
**"fairly smooth sailing" = totally panicking before each test, freaking out over each homework assignment to get them perfect and not missing a moment of study/math center time so I could maximize the opportunity to ask questions in person. Dan probably wouldn't call it "smooth sailing" from his vantage point of supportive spouse.
2 comments:
Three A's aren't smooth. They are pointy on the top with a lot of angles and straight lines all over the place. But my smile of pride is about as smooth as things can get. Full time student. Full time mom. Full time wife and friend. You've been busy and the grade prove it. :-)
ROCK ON! Congrats, congrats! I felt the same way about math growing up and can honestly say that statistics was one of the most rewarding classes I took in grad school. (My all-time fave is the box plot-- it has whiskers and stars!!!)
Post a Comment