Sorry I’m
a little late this week; I had midterms Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so it’s
been a little busy around here. The past few semesters I’ve had far more papers
than midterms, but this time around I had exams in five out of six classes. On
the bright side, I’m not constantly writing essays, although I do have a couple
I need to start (and of course there’s always my thesis lurking in the
background). Also, the scores that have been trickling in are better than I
expected, given the trouble I’ve had concentrating on my work.
It’s a
generally accepted fact that college seniors aren’t good for anything after
Spring Break; senioritis hits hard as the transition to real life looms closer and
closer. For ROTC seniors, though, the break comes even earlier, when we receive
our service assignments. Suddenly, I don’t see myself as a college student
anymore; I see myself as a young professional, and college is only a step along
the way. Of course, I already knew that theoretically, but in the past week my
perspective on college has changed.
It’s
not a bad thing, I don’t think, just a shift in priorities. My ROTC classes
suddenly seem much more practical and important, while my General Education
classes, while still interesting, don’t seem very applicable. This is perhaps
amplified by the fact that, while I only have class for a few hours per day, I’m
never through with ROTC; texts and emails pop up at all hours, night or day,
with instructions, reprimands, or invitations.
Not
that this is necessarily a bad thing, either. On Wednesday night I had a lovely
dinner at the Wardroom Club of Boston; the Vice President is affiliated with
our ROTC unit and invited a couple of us to join her there. There were plenty
of opportunities for networking, especially now that I have my designation as a
SWO (N) and can be sorted into a specific community. The guest speaker’s spot
lasted until 9 o’clock, but he was speaking on American military policy and the
Middle East, so it fit me like a glove. I didn’t get to bed until midnight,
which is extremely unusual, but I’m glad I went.
I
actually went to bed at midnight last night as well, due to yet another social
event, which lasted until 10. The TFs for my history class on the Roman Empire
organized a movie night with pizza and Quo Vadis (Christian historical fiction
written in the 1890s; I read it in middle school and loved it. The movie was alright,
too, if a little long: we started it at 6:45.) College events have always lured
students with food, but it’s become much more prevalent in the wake of the strike,
although by now, we’ve become fairly inured to the new arrangements.
Last
weekend consisted mainly of midterm review, but we did have a one-time Saturday
battalion lab for ROTC to listen to the stories of a USMC veteran from Iwo
Jima. He talked for two hours straight, but he had a lot worth saying; I think
most of the students would have been willing to stay longer. The stories ranged
from amusing to heartbreaking, but no one was bored (although a few people were
very sleepy; it was right after lunch.)
Other
than that, not much to report. For PT last week we played handball, which was a
good change of pace from our normal calisthenics. I managed to turn my ankle
minorly, and then turned the same one again going down the stairs later that
day, so I’m having to wrap it and let it rest for a while. It’s nothing that
doesn’t happen at least once every few months; from past experience, it should
be fine in about a week, provided I don’t hurt it again.
That’s about all I have for you; I’m
going to go back to mustering up the willpower to work on my thesis this
afternoon. Best wishes!
Pictures:
The weather has been warm and a little humid; it feels like early summer outside, not October. The leaves have begun to change, though, and there's always something beautiful to look at.
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