I start my qualifying exams on Monday. I'm sure I've explained this process, but I will explain it again, if only to quiet my own anxiety. On Monday morning I will receive eight questions, four of which are based on my dissertation proposal and four based on my general reading list. I answer six of eight, three from each section. The exam period is Monday, Jan. 19 to Saturday, Jan. 31. The questions I do not answer I then prepare for my oral defense, which occurs about two weeks after I turn in my exams. Luckily, I do not teach this semester so I can place my entire focus on the exams. I am taking my final class (Romance Philology) of my program and I may or may not attend class for those two weeks. We shall see.
There are a dozen things I could be doing to be better prepared, but I'm at the point that I just want to take the blasted exam. There are a few things I still need to do before Monday: read another book, read a few chapters of other books, and take some. My only desire, however, is to crawl back into bed, or curl up on the couch and finish season four of Lost. I'm not worried that I won't pass my exams; I will. It is the moment of anticipation that has me a bit frazzled this morning.
In other news, Little Girl turns three on Friday. We're having some friends over on Saturday to do some grilling and to eat cake and ice cream. It should be fun and it will be a nice distraction to help me relax this weekend.
There are a dozen things I could be doing to be better prepared, but I'm at the point that I just want to take the blasted exam. There are a few things I still need to do before Monday: read another book, read a few chapters of other books, and take some. My only desire, however, is to crawl back into bed, or curl up on the couch and finish season four of Lost. I'm not worried that I won't pass my exams; I will. It is the moment of anticipation that has me a bit frazzled this morning.
In other news, Little Girl turns three on Friday. We're having some friends over on Saturday to do some grilling and to eat cake and ice cream. It should be fun and it will be a nice distraction to help me relax this weekend.
1 comment:
Jimmy, I almost cried reading your description of the exams. I'm finishing my Vandy application today, I may reconsider. I have the Brigham exam coming up and I'm not terribly worried about it, but test anxiety is always huge, it's more the anticipation like you said. I just want to watch Star Wars or play Video Games. 3 is a fun age, congratulations. We got our 3 year old overalls for Christmas and she is adorable in them. Kids are wonderful.
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