Study Break No. 2

Since Saturday evening, I've been sitting either at my computer, at the coffee shop across the street, or on my couch surrounded by massive amounts of paper and books. I thought the piles of books and paper were big when I was an undergrad. This is quite a different experience.

I took a very short break tonight to have dinner with some friends and shared that when I was studying literature, I didn't feel as nearly as confused as I now feel on a regular basis. When I wrote as an english major I explored my ideas and thoughts, and as long as I was able to extract a decent amount of passages to support my position, it was a job well done. I was writing papers for grades, yes, but really, it was for fun. The consequences affected no one but me and the consequences came in the form of a grade, which, let's be honest aren't as important as academia would sometimes like us to think. I wrote several papers that pandered to individual professors. I included their phrases and ideas because that's exactly what they were looking for. It was especially ridiculous to me when a professor would scribble an exuberant "YES!" next to an idea in my paper that came directly from him or her.

Now, my writing must follow a much more weighty, formulaic pattern. The consequences that issue from the type of writing I am learning how to do now not only affect me, but also another person- in a very major way. I am finding that I am far more serious about this work than my undergrad work. It's probably because I'm older. Also, while I chose to go to college, this step in my life feels much more personal and like one that will determine the next phase of my life. It is a big deal, and it is so exciting!

That was a tangent I didn't intend to go off on. Now I really ought to finish my objective legal memorandum. I've spent countless hours on this little beast and if you think it sounds simple just google it!