The end of Winter

I had my presentation this week, and it went, if I may, pretty damn well. I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that I kept my cool, and didn’t get nervous…it was great! For the past quarter I was in a research group with two of my program mates, and we were all studying literature in some capacity. Our conference style presentation went very well, and there was a very evident common thread through it all. At this point, everyone in the program has presented, and we are all incredibly relieved! To celebrate we went out to a local bar called  The Brotherhood (we are in an upper-division program, so everyone is over 21 for the most part). Our professors even stopped in for a beer, which was hilarious and entertaining to say the least. It was a satisfying way to wrap up the quarter

For this coming Spring quarter I enrolled in a program called “Equality and the Constitution” with faculty Jose Gomez. I am timidly excited, because, firstly, I have heard that he is an incredible law professor and will make you a better student; on the other hand, this will be my first entirely-law program. That being said, I have had programs in the past that have incorporated some law, so I am not really all that worried. I guess it’s just the “first time” jitters that I am experiencing. But, it’ll be great all the same!

In any case, spring break is upon us, and I am headed to warmer waters to escape the Spring-time showers! I’ll write about it when I return!

What I will do this Spring

So, we now find ourselves more than halfway through Winter quarter. Our projects will be due, and our presentations draw near. My faculty have decided that our research presentations will be done in a “public forum” format. This means that not only will we present to our program-mates, but we will also present to whomever wishes to attend the presentations. Anyone at all is welcome, and so I invited several friends to witness what I have been sweating and stressing over the last two quarters. I am pretty excited, my project is really coming along, and my professor is impressed. Good things!

Any way, now that the quarter is coming to a close, my thoughts have naturally turned to the Spring. I am planning to study abroad in Berlin this coming Fall, so, I am realizing that I kinda need to brush up on the German language…like really freakin’ soon. This basically means that I need to enroll in a German class this Spring. I am pretty excited, though, the only German class available in the Spring is German III; meaning, I will be struggling like crazy to understand what the f*%& is going on. But, it will be worth it. I took German for many years as a kid, so I might pick it back up quickly. Hopefully. Guhh.

In any case, to Germany I will go, come Fall. What remains to be seen is whether or not I will epically fail at communicating or not. Either way, it will be memorable. Wish me luck…

Writing a research paper…

So, my research paper is due in 3 weeks. Well, my final draft is anyway. My rough draft is due in, um, yikes, 3 days. Once I put my draft in my professor’s mailbox on Friday at 5 pm, I will be able to relax for the weekend, knowing I’ve accomplished something, at least a little but of something.

At the end of the weekend and the beginning of the week, I will receive comments from my professor, and there will be a lot. Whether or not the paper is well-done, she is so, so, thorough. That is one of the incredible things about Evergreen, your professors will put in the time for thorough feedback on your writing. You will become a ten-fold better writer than before your studies at Evergreen. I know I have. I am in my third year, and my technical writing skills have grown immensely, and will continue to grow. This is not least of all because of the dedicated role of the faculty. They are a huge part of what makes Evergreen what it is.

 

 

Forest.

The forest is the thing that gets me about Evergreen. Once you enter, you are its possession. The moss that grows on the trees is an unreal green, and it becomes impossible to imagine anything looking more alive.

When I walk or run through the forest, breathing becomes something that I enjoy instead of a reflex that goes unnoticed. Everything becomes sharper, vivid. It is true that every time I run through the woods, I turn to my running partner and say between breaths we are so lucky to be here.

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It is true, the winters here build character. You are forced to take them as they come, there is no other choice, no way to avoid them. In the mornings upon dressing for the day, it is tempting to pretend for a moment that boots and a Gortex jacket will not be needed. You tell yourself just today, today I’ll be fine without them. But then you snap out of it, those whimsical thoughts are gone, and your brain is functioning in reality-mode once again. You know better, they –the boots and jacket etc.– they are your most constant companion.

 

 

The Library

Oh Library. You will be my home for the next 3 months. I will sit at all of your tables that are located near an electrical outlet, and type away, read away, deleted away, and think away. Not to mention, I will use many of your dusty (a cliche for a reason) books, and I will not use even more.

Yes, it is the time of year when I inevitably must begin serious work on my large research project. In a previous post I slightly illustrated the gist of my research, though as any researcher knows, the ‘gist’ will change again and again. This I understand, though it never ceases to worry the shit out of me.

During this time of year, the (dead, heart, middle of) winter, the weather is nothing more –and certainly nothing less– than wet. I say this because you cannot call it cold, nor can you call it windy, nor can you reasonably consider it to be stormy. There is no trajectory to the weather, no where it seems to be headed. The absence of variance in the weather has an absurdly comforting appeal. It is absurd because drizzle itself is not comforting, hardly, it is wet after all. No, it is the constant rhythm of the drizzle, the inevitability of its perseverance. And, there is something undeniable about the absence of sun encouraging hermit-like behavior, and thus, productivity.

So, here I am in the library, and the scene outside is wet. Wet and green. The moss flourishes, the grass reverts into its alter ego, the sponge. The bookshelves supply ample places to be cozy, alone, and to feel ultra studious. For those of us in need of such comforts, the library bookshelves turn out to be the perfect place to be. One can sit astride an aisle with one’s tailbone against the base of a shelf, and one’s soles flat against the opposite shelf.

If anyone need know where I am, I can most likely be found in the S1000′s, skimming through various secondary sources regarding Herman Melville’s works.

Nature’s Neutrality

That is the title of my research project. I am intrigued by this idea that we, humans, expect a larger force (God, Fate, Nature, or what have you) to dole out punishment and reward where it is “due”. We look to the sky and ask why me? when something tragic occurs in our lives. The 5th book of the Bible, The Book of Job, has something to teach us about our self-righteous sense of justice, our constructed sense of justice. God tells his servant, Job, that he, God, is not a “larger judge”. In this, Job realizes that God is in fact neutral, and not in charge of rewarding the “good” and smiting the “bad”.

My research topic revolves around this idea of justice and suffering. I am also taking it in a literary direction…the American Renaissance for one. This coming winter quarter we will begin our writing. For now, we are writing our prospectuses and doing much of the preliminary research. I am currently reading literary theory. Whew! I am EVER ready for winter break!!

Feel free to ask me any questions about my project! I have done lots!

Finishing up the quarter!

Wow. Fall quarter is quickly coming to an end. My program is a graduate school prep. program for political philosophy, and it is definitely reading intensive! We are also preparing to begin our research projects that we will be working on all next quarter. For anyone who is interested in studying philosophy, literature, writing, or history, I can certainly talk to you about what that is like here. My experience has been fantastic, albeit rigorous/intense. It’s funny, because I feel as though I am already ready for Grad. school, and I’m only a junior.

The weather today is actually sunny, though it is rather cold! The leaves are falling too, and I know rain is in our future! However, I will be going south for winter break, so no worries here

Again, if you have any questions at all about what it’s like to go to school here, just ask!