April 11, 2005

Regrettable Decisions of Spring 2005

With the end of classes a mere 30 days away and barely 5 weeks left until graduation, I thought I might go over some of my more regrettable decisions for my last semester at Cal. Now, I've never been known for the soundness of my academic decisions, but I think I really take the prize this time in terms of my propensity to overload myself, considering I was done with most requirements and hard work was completely unwarranted for this semester.

1. Teaching a DeCal; teaching a class is hard work and I seriously don't have any motivation. This class is taking up way more of my time than I expected or desired.
2. Taking a graduate class (MCB C146/246); admittedly this is not entirely my fault since I didn't know it was an almost entirely graduate class until it was too late, but still, what the hell was I thinking? Now I have a final project where I have to produce original research. If I had a heart or a soul, I'd be crying right now, just at the thought of this.
3. Leaving my lab class for MCB to my last semester; I'll be lucky if I pass this class and sadly, I'm neither joking nor exaggerating. Having 8 hours of lab per week in your last semester is cruel and unusual punishment.
4. Taking E120 for a letter grade; the possibility of an easy A is quickly outweighed by the need to try, I now realize. I might have to start attending lecture, given the difficulty of the second midterm.
5. Taking 17 units when 10 would have sufficed; I had 3 requirements left to complete my MCB degree (I finished EECS in Fall 2004) - the genetics lab (see #3), an MCB elective (see #2), and a Social/Behavioral breadth class in a department other than history (see #4). I could have accomplished all these in 10 units; instead I'm in 17 and it's no less difficult of a semester than any other in my college career.

Honestly, if it had been any other semester, I think this would have been a trivial schedule for me. I mean, I'm only taking one EECS class this semester, as opposed to my usual 2-3, and 16-18 units has been my average since day one of college. Yet, given the complete lack of motivation that has become an all-encompassing trend in my life in the past few months, I am just hoping against hope that I won't screw up bad enough to prevent my graduation. Hell, considering I'm already guaranteed a degree in EECS, maybe failing out of biology won't be that bad. Hold on. That's not a good mind set.

Taking classes I hate doesn't help, nor does the fact that I've been working a lot over the past semester. I've reached the point of burn out and gone way past. I don't feel like getting out of bed anymore. Four weeks might as well be four years, for all the good it will do me. Senior year won't let me fade to black without a fight!

So, for all you folks out there who still have a last semester left, don't make the mistake I did. Take the damn bare minimum! No one will know. Moreover, no one will care!