30 Days of Writing: Your academics

Holly: School has always been a big part of my life.  Now that I think about it, I'm 23 and I spent 20ish years of my life in school.  I was always motivated to do well in school...I rarely had a report card in elementary school with anything less than a B on it.  Same in high school; I think I had 2 C's on my report cards in four years of high school (you can thank physics and statistics for that).  High school holds a lot of fond memories: proms, Mock Trial, SEVEN YEARS of marching band, meeting my best friend, whom we are still friends with.  College was...a struggle.  I barely had to work in high school compared toBerea College; it was a whole new ballpark.  It's a lot different getting an A at Berea College than it is anywhere else.  I was struggling most semesters to just PASS my classes, let alone shooting for an A.  But nevertheless, I graduated, and I am so proud of myself, even a year later.  I made some of the most amazing friends there, formed close relationships with some of my professors, spent seven semesters in BME which changed my faith and my perspective on life in general, spent four weeks in England and learned so much more about the world, another culture, and myself (I WILL go back someday!!), found my wonderfully amazing church family...need I say more?  Is more school in the cards for me? Maybe.  I mean, there are so many options out there, and there are so many options that interest me.  But it's too hard for me to devote myself to just one area of study.  And to be honest, right now I don't think I'm disciplined enough.  In fact, I know I'm not disciplined enough.  I'm enjoying working and having time to myself and other areas, and not having to worry about school.   And the fact of the matter is that school is always out there, and I am always learning, even without a textbook or a Microsoft Word document in front of me.

Kelly: I did my best in all of my schoolwork, even though I mostly struggled. I worked hard for the C's on my report cards/college transcripts! When I was in 2nd grade I was told I had a "learning problem." Not necessarily a disability, but I struggled more than the average student. Had a hard time focusing...thought maybe ADD/ADHD/nonsense, but turns out I was just waiting for Holly's direction. Struggled a LOT in test-taking, the standardized ones of course. Made a 16 on the ACT, yet still got into Berea. Graduated 9th in my high school class with a 3.8 GPA. Then I came to Berea and decided I wanted to do nursing; THAT in of itself was the biggest challenge. My GPA took a nose dive, and as a result did not allow me to practice nursing in one area; the University of Louisville. It hurt, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea. But I worked VERY HARD and am proud of my college roots. If it wasn't for Berea I would have never got to meet all my awesome friends, go to Scotland, or anything that I am proud of and was able to do! And now...I'm getting ready to pass the ultimate test; the boards (May 29!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I think my education at Berea has really prepared me for what is to come, and I will do my best to try and retain a fraction of what I learned in the almost 5 years I was there. I scored well on my HESI's in my capstone class (precursors to the boards; they were our finals in my nursing classes) so maybe I'm starting to get over my standardized testing phobias. We'll just have to see!

First Day of Classes!!! w00t!!

Holly: Alas, Wednesday, August 24th, aka the first day of classes at wonderful Berea beloved!!!

For me, the day began at 9am with biochemistry.  I killed a wasp off of my dear roommate's desk...yep, just grabbed my notebook and WHAM! Poor dead little critter fell helplessly to the floor.  I was quite satisfied with myself...although this charade resulted in me being referred to as "the wasp killer" when the professor continued taking roll.  All I really have to say about this class is that you know it's going to be hard when said professor blatantly announces during the class (and writes clearly in the syllabus) something to the degree of "If you absolutely don't NEED this class, then don't bother."  Is now an appropriate time to say "gulp?" 

300-level (conversational...aka nothing but speaking) Spanish followed in the afternoon.  Wow, am I rusty?!?! Enough of that.  But I think that once i devote the much, much, MUCH needed time in brushing up, then I will be just fine.

Histology (or for those biologically challenged...looking at tissues all day) immediately followed.  I am so stoked about that class!!! Hey, I'm a bio major.  What can I say?  And the professor is made of pure awesome. 

The day ended with my senior seminar class at 4pm (which goes for 2 hours...drag.  However, it is only 2 days a week, so it's not terrible).  The topic is globalization and digital media technology...fascinating stuff! Can't wait to get into it more.  Bonus: I had the professor waaaaaayyyyyyyyyy back in my very first semester of college, and since he didn't manage to scare me away then, then I'm back again.  Or, a "glutton for punishment" as he so put today. 

As for now, I just got back from BME (the gospel choir I am a part of), and, I am not joking, EVERY SINGLE CHAIR WAS FILLED WITH NEW PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't you tell that I'm just a little bit excited about that? :) 

So, all in all, it's shaping up to be a difficult semester, but God has provided immensely for me since I have been here and I am confident that this semester will be no exception.  All things considering that I start my new job tomorrow and I am just ONE SEMESTER away from holding my degree in my hands!!!!!! !@#$%^&*()(*&^%$#!@#$%^&*()_(*&^%$#@!*I&^%$#@$%^&*( that's me being excited! :D

Thank you for reading.  blessings.


Kelly: Well, even though I have a less heavy class load, they're not going to be easy classes to say the least. Nursing for Children and Adults, Psychiatric nursing, Pathophysiology (study of diseases), and Black Music Ensemble, or the gospel choir that I sing in...I'm sure Holly mentioned it, so I don't want to be redundant.

I have only had psychiatric nursing, patho and BME today. Nursing for Children and Adults (you will see me refer to it often as Med/Surg), will not come until Friday. Patho is...big. It's my biggest class; there's over 40 of us. And for a school such as Berea, it's a big class. And it's only 2 days a week from 10-12. Presentations in that class will be....interesting. Each student has to do 3, and the first set is next Wednesday, so after we got done with class there was a massive b-line to the 4 rubrics for the 4 groups who will go next Wednesday. Needless to say my partner and I didn't stand a chance at going, but that's ok.

Psych nursing will be...incredibly difficult. Not physically difficult, but mentally, for me at least. I've never been in a situation where I am exposed to mentally fragile individuals. And my instructor said "prepare to be uncomfortable at times." Please send lots of good thoughts to me and my class of 18; I surmise it will not be easy for us. But my instructor is really funny...super funny actually. For now, that's about all for me; I won't spare the repeat details of BME, except that I am incredibly pumped and looking forward to this year. As a 6th semester member (garsh I'm old), it's the biggest I've ever seen it. And as a Chaplain I hopefully will try *ahem* try to remember everyone's name. Stay tuned for that one. Enjoy reading, our faithful readers. Cheers! And enjoy the funny pic of us at the end.