Monday, March 14, 2011

Slow and steady wins the race

After much angst over the weekend, I have decided to drop my elective Italian course.  It pains me to do so but I really need to accept my limitations!  Any student, whether mature-age or not, can understand the stresses involved in balancing a uni workload on top of a life workload and at the moment my life seems to be tipping the scales.  So it is, with disappointment, that I let this subject go but with a sigh of relief that I can now concentrate on my two literature subjects - my shoulders feeling considerably lighter.  My only consolation is that I may be able to pick up the Italian during summer semester enabling me to devote the time necessary in learning this beautiful language.

I've also resigned myself to not having any time constraints as far as finishing my degree goes.  I'll be finished when I'm finished - said the tortoise to the hare!

7 comments:

  1. It is so good you decided to do this before it was too late. I have dropped classes before too, and it was often SUCH a wise choice. Good luck on everything, brave tortoise!

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  2. I don't blame you at all! I was a sophomore when I decided to take Italian. I realized that I learned Spanish a hell of a lot easier because I was taking it as a kid! Italian was kicking my ass...and I AM Italian. I was soooo excited to finally be learning it but I was spending so much time studying it and it was my elective. Three things helped me make the decision to quit but it still wasn't an easy decision. One, the professor...who I was becoming good friends with SUCKED as a teacher! Two, I learned in my brain and cognitive sciences class that after a certain age (much younger than I), learning a new language is extremely difficult. This tid-bit didn't actually convince me to quit. I am still very determined to learn Italian someday. But it did help me feel better about the fact that I just wasn't getting it! Most importantly, however, I got a 48% on an exam for a required class because I was spending so much time on Italian homework. That was the last straw. I couldn't see failing a required class for an elective. So....I dropped the class, felt a huge weight lifted and then bought the Rosetta Stone Italian program!!! I haven't had much time to listen to it but I will do that this summer at least a little bit!

    Congrats on your lighter load and on cutting yourself some slack!! Keep plugging away! Each day is one day closer to your degree!!!!

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  3. haha...thnx Cat for dropping by my blog..and the clock looks nice on your blog!!
    btw, how many languages do you know?

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  4. good for you. Sounds like a wise decision.

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  5. Isn't it liberating to not have the self-imposed deadline? Now you are free to do whatever is best for you and your education. Dropping a class is painful but sometimes necessary for the sake of our sanity and make it possible for us nontrads to do well in all of our classes while dealing with work and family.

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  6. Nikki - I felt really sad (and guilty) about dropping Italian yesterday. I was enjoying it so much and I learnt lots in two weeks but with an old brain like mine, I know it's better if it's the one subject I get lots of time doing rather than a little! It is, after all, my dream to go and live in Italy one day! Have you been there?
    Aayushi - I only speak English very well, French and German minimally and Italian a little more than that! I do LOVE languages though and should've studied linguistics.
    Brandywine - tres liberating!!! No more deadlines for me (apart from assignments!).

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  7. O..that's so nice at least you can name a few languages though you speak minimal.Even I love languages..hoping to learn French this summer.I speak Hindi and English well though.

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