there has to be something else after this

this past semester has been a really great semester. it made me remember that my decision to switch was a really good one. i took six classes totaling 18 units (science/math education, intermediate video, silent film, handmade film, feminist concepts and strategies, and history of photography), and it was, by far, my best semester ever. it really makes a huge difference when you are doing what you love, and i don't regret that it took me until my senior year of college to realize this. i am grateful that i had that epiphany because i can see myself being really miserable later on in life had i continued on with my original path.

i have two classes left to take to complete my new major, so i'll be back in the fall to finish them. it's weird that i won't be taking any classes on the hmc campus, but i still don't associate myself with any of the other 5c. on one hand, i just really want to graduate already and jump start that next stage in life, and then on the other hand, i think i'll really miss this place.

graduation was last sunday, and i got to walk with my friends. at first, i hesitated to do so because i just felt weird not actually being finished, but my professors and friends convinced me otherwise. i'm really glad i did that and got to celebrate with the friends with whom i entered college. the end was just weird, though, because it really hasn't hit me that i won't be seeing most of these people again for a while. people were running left and right attending to their families (mine included) so it was difficult to find everyone to say the goodbyes. i can't believe four years have passed already. after my sophomore year, time decided that it'll just accelerate tenfolds and leave me in the dust.

i would upload some pictures from graduation day, but i don't have my card reader. i'm staying at my parents' friend's home while waiting for my car to get fixed so i can head back to texas for the summer.

i think it'll definitely hit me once i get out of this state.

humanities

i said in my last post that i was going to write more about that feminism class. first off, i'd like to state that although i go to a math and science school, my favorite part is that i get to take humanities courses. in fact, they usually are my favorite classes. (thus, it just made sense to me to switch my major last semester to do something i really truly love.) this is not to say that i regret going to mudd, because i don't. i've said this a lot lately, but the past four years at mudd has really helped me learn about myself. this place is hard, and it's definitely not meant for everybody. in fact, for the first two years, i was really convinced that i don't belong here. i didn't think i was nerdy enough or smart enough. but i am really glad i stuck it through. actually the dean of academic affairs and my professors were the ones who told me that i could make it. they were there to support me through my rough patch. and they advised me that i needed to be more involved and busy for me to be able to make it. and they were right. i am definitely the kind of person that the more busy i get, the more efficient i become. else, if i have nothing to do, i feel myself rotting.

anyway, back to the whole humanities thing. mudd requires that everyone takes at least a third of their classes in humanities. not everyone likes this rule, but i love it! initially, i wasn't too fond of this, because like most people, i came to mudd for the math and science, not the arts or sociology or the likes. however, i found that through these classes, i was challenged. my views and opinions were challenged, and i was forced to think on other levels. for example, i had to take a media theory class for my new major. since my schedule was so packed this semester, i decided that i want a class that doesn't meet very often, so i picked the one that worked best for my schedule: feminist concepts and strategies, which meets once a week from 2:45pm to 5:30pm. not too bad, right? except, before i started taking the class, i was scared because of the stereotypes i've heard from people about feminists and about feminist classes (especially at scripps). i thought that i wouldn't be able to last in the class for more than a month. so i definitely came into the class with a bias. and then reality hits, and so did the assignments. not only was this class an art production class but it was really heavy in the reading material. i was assigned about three hundred pages to read just for the first week of class, and the rest of the semester didn't look any lighter. i was really sold that i would not enjoy this class at all.

however, i was wrong, and it is now one of my favorite classes i've ever taken in my life. i've learned to look and treat others in a more positive light.

i know i'm rambling on and on now about this class, but i just really want to reiterate how much i love humanities courses. and it's so sad to me that a lot of people don't take that opportunity to go explore many of the hum classes offered by the five colleges. most people take as many economics classes as possible and try to skip out on the rest. and as helpful as econ classes can be, it doesn't really challenge you to look at things in a different light. well, that's my take on it. haha.