So I was chatting online with my cousin last night for a few minutes. She was tellling me that she was just getting ready for midterms. I feel as though the normal, graduated human-being would respond to that, "Oh, sorry about that, I'm so glad those are behind me!" Well, considering that I am not your average Jane, my reaction was quite the opposite. I reflected on my days of midterm madness and said "I kind of miss those." The truth is that I was a bit jealous of her at that moment. I LOVE learning! I loved the challenge of midterms and finals. There was something about the pressure to put sufficient time and effort to be able to ace a test - the harder, the better! Then going in to take the test and having a roller coaster of emotions from, "Oh, that's easy, got that one right" or "If only I had studied a little more" to "I know this, think Kris, think!" I loved visualizing the page in the book (pictures and all) or the page of notes where the answer was found and translating that to the test questions. The rush of walking out of the test awaiting the score is indescribable. And for those tests in the testing center that provided automatic results, I LOVED looking up at the screen, looking for 7413 (the last digits of my ID number) to see the results. Of course the ultimate pay-off was the flashing "CONGRATULATIONS" on the screen when you got an A. For me, tests didn't end there. Once I received the score, even if I only missed one and whether or not I knew which ones I had gotten wrong, I went back through my study materials to check what I had gotten right and what I had missed. I often would memorize the questions I had trouble with so I could check my answers upon walking out of the test.Ok, so maybe I shouldn't be disclosing this information. I admit, it's not normal. It's just part of my competitive, perfectionist nature. I totally understand if after this post I never hear from you again. But seriously, I'm looking forward to studying for the GRE this year (I started back in October, but got busy and put it aside) and going back to school. Long live education!
2 comments:
No, it is not weird, unless...maybe I am weird to? I am kind of jealous Brent is learning his guts out and taking tests all the time. However I have been enjoying some different kinds of learning...photography conferences, learning to love reading (not so much a fan in the past but warming up to it), and learning how to teach my little one to learn (right now it is colors so we go on a "color hunt" each day and fill a basket full of items one specific color). And that last one is the most rewarding learning I have expereinced thus far in my life.
Thanks for making me feel better - I'm not the only one! I just love that you prove that learning is a lifelong process whether in or out of school. I often worry that when I am no longer in school or working I will not be satisfied with my intellectual progression. That only shows my ignorance to life. However, it's not necessarily about what you're doing, but how you're applying yourself. You give me hope that one day I will love reading! And I can only imagine that the most rewarding learning comes through children.
It's been way too long Whitni...you guys need to come to NYC...you're always welcome!
Post a Comment