I really don't want this post to sound like I'm gloating or basking in the glory of myself. Rather, I feel like I've worked hard this past semester, and I've enjoyed the challenges it's presented. I really feel that the Lord has strengthened me throughout these past few months and helped me achieve my academic and work-related goals. So I'm incredibly pleased and thankful and humbled by the experiences I've had.
And because I'm so happy and pleased with my work, which would have not turned out so well without a caring Father in Heaven, I just want to share some things I'm particularly pleased with.
--I wrote three papers this semester that I absolutely loved. One of them was about Berthe Morisot and how she balanced the maternal and political aspects of her life. Another was about images of working women in the 1950s. And finally, the last one was about Maria Janitschek's short story "In Weiss." This last paper was my absolute favorite. I poured my heart and soul into it and tackled a topic that is not easy but nonetheless one I'm passionate about.
--My professor told me to submit my Janitschek paper to the Sophie Journal, and I'm totally going to do this. (It's an online publication run by BYU's German department that accepts papers from students.)
--I made an unlikely friend-ish. He's a student in the class I work in as a TA. At the beginning of the semester he was having trouble grasping the material, so we set up a weekly appointment to review class material and answer any questions that he had. At first, I thought he would be difficult to work with and constantly complaining about having to take this class. He made it quite obvious he didn't want to. But I've learned that some people just need another person to listen to them, and sometimes that's all you need to do to serve another person. I'm grateful that he's proven to be friendly and easy to work with.
--I submitted a paper for my Northern Baroque class, and my professor encouraged me to pursue the topic for a senior thesis. I'm not sure if I will, but I'm considering it. I'm mostly grateful for the direction and possibility it gives me. I've been dreading picking a topic for my senior thesis, but now I at least have an option endorsed by one of the professors.
--I like to think that I have been able to help several of the students in my class. (I call it "my" class, but really it's Professor Peacock's, and I'm just her lowly TA.) Helping people is a really fantastic thing to do, and it makes me happy.
--I have gained greater confidence with regards to my conversational skills. Seriously, they used to be so bad. But now I'm able to sustain a conversation for more than two minutes. Quality improvement, folks. I still have a long way to go, but it's going.
--I had three papers due in a matter of two weeks and midterms to grade on top of that (midterms consume 20 hours of my week, by the way). But I planned ahead, and was able to not write any of those papers the night before. I'm gaining a greater testimony with regards to planning ahead. It's really phenomenal.
So I'm pretty much done. This semester was busy but happy, and I think I'm allowed to be content with the way I handled certain situations.
Confidence, folks. Can you feel it grow and blossom inside of you? Wonderful, isn't it? Choosing to be confident and letting it show. (But hopefully it never turns into arrogance.)
