oh. my.

d.o.n.e. done.  that was really, really rough.
i can now say that i completed my first semester back to school.
i can now say that it was the hardest semester of my life.
i can now say i'm sick of analyzing poetry.
i can now say i hate close readings.
i can now say i loathe critical theory.
i can now say i'm not sure i'll ever finish.

but, i'm appreciative of everything i learned.

i learned that, wow, i actually am pretty smart.
i learned that school is a lot of work when you have two jobs, a baby, a husband, and a house to take care of.
i learned that high-school-grade papers just don't cut it in college.  i learned that the hard way.
i learned that there are a lot of theories out there about existence and identity.  none of them compare to what i already know.
i learned to embrace my inner emotions through writing poetry in nature (doesn't that sound fun?).
i learned that most people who make comments in class are just trying to impress the professor.  i'm just as smart as any of them.
i learned that college professors (at least mine) have your best interest in mind.  for the most part, they want you to be successful and work really hard at making sure you are doing your best.
i learned that i would never, ever, ever, ever, ever want to be a college professor.
i learned that diversity is cool.  i loved hearing about other people's life experiences.
i learned that a lot of things get neglected when you have deadlines and readings and finals.  like my husband somewhat, my living space, sometimes jonah, and definitely this blog.

so here's to being done for the semester.  i have this nagging feeling that there is something i need to be doing, but i don't have anything to read or turn in!  except i should probably stop freaking out that we're taking jonah on a (very short) airplane ride tomorrow.  wish us luck.  hopefully by the time you're reading this, it will all be a distant memory.