I'm late.
No, I'm not pregnant, nor am I the White Rabbit. It's just that I have never turned in an assignment late before.
It's not that I really procrastinated, either. I'm just really slow and plodding where stats is concerned; I didn't budget enough time to get it all done. It was due at midnight and I was nowhere near being done with it, and just today I put in over 10 hours on it. I'd say that I have 25-30 hours in it so far, and it probably needs another 15 or so to be done. I just submitted what I had, and attached a note for the instructor admitting my malfeasance. I have an appointment with him tomorrow, where I will face my lameness head-on. I will just have to accept whatever punitive damage to my grade he may assess.
I feel like I'm the worst student ever. I now understand why people hate college - if this happened to me a lot, I'd quit school and get a real job...
To prevent this from being a total loss, I am trying to make a sermon out of it. What is the message here?
Well, through the haze of self-loathing, I can see that I am overreacting a tad. I'm not the worst student ever (I can't be - that one guy in my Art History class who plagiarized a passage from a book written by our instructor holds that title). I can see that there are important lessons to be learned here, and not just about how tedious and time-consuming stats can be. I know from my experiences in various fighting arts that it's the bouts you lose that really teach you about your technique, and about your self. By failing, you learn how to pick yourself up and get moving again, and about how to be graceful in defeat. Hopefully, you also learn how to win the next one.
I'll get this assignment done in the next few days, and I'll budget a lot more time for the next one. This one failure will not completely ruin my life, my career, or even my semester, most likely.
I hope my instructor sees it this way too...
Go in Peace.
Sunday Sermon
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7 comments:
wait, wait, wait . . . you have never turned in an assignment late, EVER? And how long have you been in school? Procrastination became sort of an art form for me in college, as well as the required bullshiting of excuses that came with it . . . I once turned in a paper for a class almost a year late after originally taking an incomplete in the class . . . I think I told the professor that my dog died . . .
Aw, sweetie. Don't worry about it. It happens to the best of us sooner or later. At least in your case, you're being honest and responsible and talking to the prof about it and hopefully delivering a finished product eventually.
When it happened to me (in grad school, too, actually) rather than explain myself and turn in the finished thing late, I turned in my rough (very rough) draft because I am so neurotic when it comes to punctuality that I couldn't bear to admit I wasn't ready. I still got a B on it, because everyone else in that class was borderline retarded (this was a crosslisted course, so not in my WS department). But still. I, too, felt like a jackass.
In other news, you should be getting your Crimbo prezzies and those books you loaned me TWO YEARS AGO in the mail shortly.
My worst was a term paper that I completely forgot about. I was going to research and write the entire thing over Turkey Break, not realizing it was due the week before that.
He called for the papers and everyone started handing them in, and I sat frozen in complete shock. Luckily for me I had spent part of that month in the hospital-he gave me an extension until after break.
So, I know the feeling of utter self-loathing on that score.
Thanks, ladies. I'll feel better when it is done...
finally i'm at a non vista computer and I can wish you a very belated Happy Birtday !
I hope you are able to share some happiness with the ones you love! *big huggles*
Thanks, Mayren! I had a great birthday, which I passed in quiet homework... :)
I kind of forgot I can make comments on your blog too! That is absolutely insane about the guy who plagiarized directly from your prof's book. Pretty crazy. So at least you're being a good student and doing what you can. Seems like you've been really busy lately.
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