So... a few weeks back I started studying for the GRE's =/

In October, I will be taking both the general one and the subject test in literature.

Initially, I felt pretty good about my grasp on the literary side of things. I mean, I haven't read nearly as much as I should -- and certainly not as much as some of my friends [ahem!]. But while there are many books in the canon I haven't read, I have in one way or another become familiar with quite a few of them. Studies of English tend to include some knowledge through osmosis. For instance, I've not yet read Vanity Fair or Thackeray at all [ =/ ] - but Jane Eyre is dedicated to Thackeray and so one sort of picks up on things. There are famous opening lines and poems referred to off-handedly. And, of course, Shakespeare abounds everywhere.

But! I was in for a very rude awakening when I cracked open my GRE English practice test and this was the first question I came across:

Ummm... I've read Wordsworth (actually his Tintern Abbey) and Eliot. But, to my recollection, I have never even heard of the others - yikes! But more than the particular authors they're listing - I was astonished at the form of the question. Identification from three, non-sequential lines? 

Oh, heaven help us!

Alright... back to my study session.

mid-term musings

In between celebrating birthdays (there are 5 birthdays in my family in just 11 days--whew!), I'm supposed to be studying for mid-terms and just wanted to process some of my thoughts.


"What is poetry? What is its aim? On the distinction between the Good and the Beautiful; on the Beauty of Evil; that rhythm and rhyme answer the immortal need in man for monotony, symmetry, and surprise; on adapting style to subject; on the vanity and danger of inspiration, etc..." - Charles Baudelaire




"The poet is occupied with frontiers of consciousness beyond which words fail, though meaning still exists." - T.S. Eliot




"A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.


I say it just
Begins to live
That day."
- Emily Dickenson




"You can gorge yourself on Austen and not get fat. She’s both a comic and a romantic, a nearly impossible combination." - Margaret Kaufman

Six weeks from today, I will be done with college.

Incroyable!

I will [Lord-willing] be carrying on with my studies, but it won't be here:

 I'll be back to visit some favorite places, but they will be the stuff of nostalgia, not routine.

 I don't mean to be all sentimental, but the truth is becoming more and more real.

And the truth is, I'll miss it. I'm often reluctant to move on to the new thing--even when its going to be better--because I'm familiar with the old. But it is time to strike out, venture forth, and discover.

I received an incredible word this weekend about being at the tipping point.

I have no idea what that means exactly, but I can sense that its time.

So, here's to the tipping point and all the new things coming

and to six more glorious weeks of this:

Have a great monday!

=)

Recipe for a paper-writing atmosphere:

• A comfortable place [but not too comfortable...zzz] to be strewn with books
• A very good playlist--upbeat, but not distracting--complete with headphones
• One grande chai (study buddy! =)
• A snack (preferably honey-nut cheerios)
• Sweats
• Hair in a bun
• Prayer
• and... A word of encouragement:

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding.
He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound].
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted;
But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired."

- Isaiah 40: 28-31 [the Amplified] 

On your mark, get set... GO!

Spider kill count in my room is up to 11, but I just defeated another one--this time in the Bodleian! Not ok! Spiders are not will not be allowed to assail these precious, lovely books. Not under my watch.

[my current location: the Radcliffe Camera, Bodleian Library]

Only a few more late nights of studying!

It's so hard staying up late working on a paper and setting your alarm for early the next morning, knowing that you'll be up even later the next night... But I'm almost there =)

Ah... productive day off.

I didn't start my day until 9:30, which is highly unusual for me. I got up, took a shower, got ready, and then I got to have a nice long time with the Lord. I love those days. Today I had the joy of finishing a journal and starting a new one. Every time I finish a journal, I go back and leaf through it, looking for highlights and reading important entries. Then I write a sort of "farewell" on the back page that tries to sum up some of what that particular journal was about. This journal's focus: desperation! It was written everywhere, "Jesus... I NEED YOU!" I almost had to laugh at myself at how worried I had let myself become. I wanted to go back and tell myself, "Ummm... can you remember a time when He has not come through?" There were some really beautiful passages too. He had shared with me parts of my identity, and rereading those today was therapeutic. Probably the highlight of my day.

After getting on tumblr and looking at some of the gowns from the golden globes last night (which, by and large, I was really disappointed with...), I made a really long to do list. It wasn't really just for today, more for the whole week. But I got quite a bit crossed off, which feels so good!

I had switched with a co-worker who was going to cover me on saturday if I worked today, so I got ready and headed off to Honda. As soon as I walked in, I saw my co-worker--the one I had switched with. Turns out there had been a miscommunication and she decided to work both days. So I headed back home, quickly scheming up some new plans (really, one of my favorite things to do... I am such a schemer ;).

Once I got home, I did a few more little tasks. I also took a definitive step: I applied to be a Freshman Interest Group (FIG) leader. We'll see how that goes. It's so exciting to think of opportunities like that. I mean, it's fun to think of my way of life changing. This would give me a chance to be a teacher, rather than just a student, and that's really exciting.

Oh! I also got news that one of my best friends is now planning on studying abroad in London in July--which is the same time I'm planning on being in England, if not in London itself. So, now I'm scheming about a weekend with her in London. Hah! How fun is that?

Then my sister and I grabbed some books and headed off for a study sesh at starbucks :) So peaceful. I feel like I get so much more done when I'm not at home. I have just fallen in love with going to starbucks or the Kirkland library (such a favorite!) to get some quality studying done.

Anyways, now all I have left to do is read some more and then I'm heading to bed early.

Quite a splendid day.