I ended Period 1 on a decent note, but not where I wanted to be, which is disappointing to me. I wanted 9s in both classes (10 is as high as you can get), but I ended up with an 8 and a 9. They are still both As in the U.S. system, so I have a 4.0 GPA, but I should have gotten higher in my one class. The only thing I can think of is that I was not clear and concise in my responses on the exam, so I am focusing on that for these new classes. My classmates remind me to not burn-out so quickly, but it is hard when you know that for the next stage in your life you need the very highest grades possible.
The way my program is designed, I should be taking 2 full-time courses this grading period. My major requires me to do one compulsory course: Social Transformations Towards Sustainable Food Systems and an elective course, which I chose to be Land Degradation & Development. They are both 6 ETCs (units). They meet every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Basically, they run for 2-5 hours each depending on the day.
If that was it I would be golden, but that, of course, is not it. I'm also doing the year-long MOA Masterclass, which meets 2-3 times a month for 2.5 hrs in the evening. Those days are not fun, but they are manageable. Also, it's not technically required because I'm in the Double Degree Program, so I can't take the exam at the end of the 2-year program, but I still go because the information is useful.
Now we get into the crazy part of my schedule. I have an Internship. A very cool internship to redesign a 16th-century castle garden focusing on merging historical research and modern permaculture designs. I'm working part-time for the next few months until period 5 (I'm in period 2 now), then I go full-time. Normally, it's not that bad. I spend a Saturday once in a while taking samples and mostly I'm doing research at home in my spare time. This week, however, I'm processing 17 soil samples, which means I'm in the lab during my lunch working each day, which is tiring. I'm also traveling this week, so it's a bit of a mad rush to get things done, but make sure they are accurate and of a high standard. It's compounded by the fact that I have no idea where things are in the lab and most of the technicians don't speak English. Next time, this will be easy, but this first-time it's a bit crazy.
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| My friend Nim volunteered to come help take samples in the rain! |
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| Dried samples, next task is sieving! |
"But, wait!" she says, "There's more!" If you didn't think I was crazy before, this should convince you. I'm working as part of a group of students to create a MOOC on Beer for the school to use during the 100-year anniversary next year. Which means we're working on researching, writing, videoing, and directing the entire online course, including questions and exams. Think CrashCourse + online exam. It is a long process. So, technically, I'm in 4 classes and doing an internship all at the same time when I should only be doing 2 classes.
Now that I've made you doubt my sanity, let's talk vision boarding, which is just goal planning on paper. Some people do it with lists, others pictures, or just a bunch of internet bookmarks. I have 2 versions: items to remember (things with close deadlines) are posted on my wall over my desk and items that I am still working through in my head get written down in notebooks, normally several times before I decide to transfer them to an Excel document and work from there. Why write them down a bunch? I mentally think through them as I write. The act of writing helps me to visualize and plan. I can draw lines, make notes, or add post-its to the page until my brain settles, then I transfer it to an Excel document where I can organize my final 'plan' with things like dates and requirements.
For example, I want to do a second Internship during the summer. *I know, I know* I printed the opportunities and taped them to my wall to remind myself to do the paperwork. Then I got this idea that I probably want to do a Ph.D. after I graduate, so I've been researching programs I would like to do and am writing those down in my notebook. As I rethink different aspects of the programs I get rid of schools, change majors, double check prerequisites, and review career options. There is no point doing a Ph.D. if the jobs I want don't require them, after all. However, everything I want to do does, so I'm probably going to die still a student.
In the midst of all this, I'm also trying to keep the hardest programs' requirements at the top of the list, because if I can get into that school, then I'm probably set for the others. Right now my top-choice is CALTECH, which is probably the hardest school to get into period. But what the heck, I might as well aim for it, with my luck I might just get in. LOL Anyways, that's just kind of where my brain is at. I'm half-way through Period 2. Three more weeks of classes, then study week and exams. My schedule (courses-wise) for the rest of the year at Wageningen is as follows:
Period 3:
Quantitative Research Methodology and Statistics
MOA Masterclass
MOOC Beer
Internship PT
Period 4:
Earth Systems Modeling
MOA Masterclass
MOOC Beer
Internship PT
Period 5:
Internship FT
Period 6:
Supporting and Understanding Sustainability Transitions
Analysis and Design of Organic Farming Systems
Then...France and a whole bunch of different types of issues I'm sure. :)
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