Week in Review

Ahhhh... Nothing like back to school... The smell of new notebooks and papers... Hearing the pleasant sound of new pens scratching and new erasers erasing... The screech of tires and the endless Nascar race that is the Liberty University Commuter Parking Lot.

Yep, it's Fall semester at good ole LU. My final semester (and I can NOT stop praising God enough for that!) Here's a recap of my first week back.

Monday: Yeah.

Tuesday: Umm...

Wednesday: Are you sure it's not Friday?

Thursday: Again?

Friday: I don't think I'm going to make it...

Monday I was ten minutes late for my first class, and about three minutes late for my second, where my professor kindly told us that if we are in the habit of being late, then we need to drop the class. Immediately. o_0 Tuesday I was two minutes late for my first class, but on time for my next two.  I also discovered I have two different classes with two different friends I've not talked with for over a year. It was a happy day. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday went by in pretty much the same ways, except actually arriving on time.

Let me sum up my classes for the semester: Literary Criticism, African-American Literature, Theology and Politics, Religious Issues in Dramatic Literature, and a Seminar over Charles Dickens. Total number of pages to be written for the semester? Approximately 50-75. Total number of pages to read for the semester? Approximately 10,000.

I'm already beginning the semesterly "Oh my God my professors are moving in for the kill" traumatic freak out session. Our first paper is due in two weeks. Five pages. I'm almost in tears thinking about it.

My favorite class thus far is actually Theology and Politics. Since voting in the last election, I've become more and more interested in how our government is run and the influences surrounding the decisions made. It's a really interesting course so far. My most challenging course will be Literary Criticism. Thus far, I understand nothing about the class. Not a word. I think LU makes seniors take it to cut back on the amount of English majors who graduate. My most reading class is definitely Dickens with six full novels in which to consume in the next 18 weeks.

Liberty has opened up the fourth floor in the main school building. If you have ever been inside Demoss Hall on LU Campus, you will know that there is no rhyme or reason to the way the rooms are numbered. Fourth floor is worse. Much, much worse, because now there are long hallways to traverse and just when you think you've reached your class, you have yet another two hallways to go down. It's reminiscient of the moving staircases in Hogwarts and the doors that lead to some places most days of the week and to someplace different on Friday.

And then, of course, there's the lovely mess that is the Commuter parking lot. After spending four days back in the all encompassing jungle of cars badly parked, I sent off a nice, eloquent, email to the director of Commuter Affairs, which then prompted a mass email sent to students, faculty, and staff written by the Chancellor, which basically said to quit bugging them with our parking problems and there was no way they are going to build us a parking garage. In other news, we have a new Visitor's Center with a gold dome...

So there you have it. My first full week of my final semester on the Liberty University campus. I am glad to be back in a place where the scholarly intellectuals and the students exchange ideas and where discussions about religion are commonplace. It is a refreshing change to speak adult instead of toddler. And to not be screamed at.