Semester One...Check!

So today officially marks the end of my first semester at seminary! And, so far so good! After the first couple months of attempting to read pages of what seemed like theological gibberish, alternated with looking up every other word in a dictionary and routinely convincing myself that no, I was in fact NOT an idiot, I did get back into the groove of the whole going-to-school and remembering-how-to-study thing. Seriously though, not one reading assignment did I not have to look up the defintion of multiple words. One time, I counted six words in one sentence I didn't know...six!!! And I haven't graduated yet, so don't ask me what ecumenical or exegesis or hermenutic or empirical mean yet because I'm still working on it.

If we rewind to undergrad, you would find out that I was compulsively obsessed with making perfect grades...and I almost did it too, I received only two B's in my entire undergrad career (And yes, those 2 Bs still haunt me to this DAY...but I'm over it, whatever..., and no you are not shocked by this fact because I'm still the same OCD dork so go ahead and insert mock surprise here...). But this time around, I resolved to be less obsessed with the GRADE, and more obsessed with actually learning and retaining. You see, I have fabulous memorization skills, and this is the reason I graduated with such flying colors. I literally memorized everything the professor said, and of course with the sophistication of the state school system, the final exams more often than not would also literally be word for word straight from the professor's lecture. So, simply memorize everything the professor says all semester, and finals are a breeze. But ask me now what type of volcanic rock is identified by it's striations or what happened at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, and I couldn't tell you (Ok but I did remember "striations" and "milvian bridge" and I bet you didn't so there...). The thing is, I'm the kind of person that learns by DOING...application, putting my hands on something and figuring it out...that's why I was good at theatre and all my arts classes. You don't just sit and listen and then get quizzed, you DO (which, by the way is a good reason you would think I would also be good at math...but guess again).

So all of that to say that when I began grad school, I decided that I didn't want to just succeed on paper, but break the memorization habits and actually learn for the long term and put it to the pavement and apply it, even if that means getting, God forbid, a B (or a grade with other letters I like to pretend don't exist). And let me tell you...accomplishing that goal is going to be hard for an obessive compulsive perfectionist like me. But by the end of the semester, I did finally figure out that it is not necessary to look up every single word I don't know in a 2,000 page book...it's ok to miss a few words here and there if you're still getting the big picture.
Easy concept you say...well I don't think you've tried being as perfect as I try to be.

All that being said, I'm still hoping for an A :) (Hey, baby steps...)