I had initially enrolled in 3 major subjects and 1 production class thinking I was unbreakable. During registration, I even imagined Katy Perry singing a Capella in my ear, “Baby you’re a fiiiiirework…”
I was on a high until a few days after enrollment, I stumbled upon Sir Al’s blog post – The BAMS Survival Guide, which I highly encourage you to check out if you haven’t. I was doused with the hard cold reality – I had been too enthusiastic that I actually failed to consider if these classes were doable, altogether in one semester. There are 2 resources that I don’t have in abundance: time and house help. Sure, I can take all 4 but I would have to lower the quality of my output in class. I know myself too well and if I may be honest, I will inevitably fail if I spread myself too thin. It took me a few days to mull things over. A bit of me wanted to live up to the standards of being a Supermom, homemaker and student extraordinaire. However I knew too, that Murphy’s Law is a law for a reason. I decided to be realistic and drop the production class – which is one of the wisest decisions I’ve made this semester. There is beauty in taking things slow – much like a leisurely walk in the park. This time I chose to breathe and let the world amuse, not overwhelm.
Classes started rolling and I began to rediscover many facets of myself that I have forgotten. I’ve given myself realistic goals but I also made sure to set the bar higher for myself. This is my 2nd lease on university life. And I can’t, for the life of me, let this opportunity pass. I struggle with memorization and the techniques that used to work, well… no longer does. I need to amp my reviewing game by repetitively reading a module and then taking time to check my own understanding by doing a reverse knowledge transfer to the nothingness. Simply put, I talk to myself. *Off topic: Wasn’t there a meme that said people who talk to themselves are, in fact, smart? Like Sheldon Cooper smart?* It has worked a good enough number of times – not fail proof but we’re getting there.
As the semester comes to a close, I’d like to thank my professors and classmates for making our virtual time together a wonderful experience. I’ve read everyone’s blogs(!) and, for some vaguely creepy reason, I feel closer to each of you than when classes started. These blogs, as simple as they are, allowed us to let others peak into our minds and hearts and for a fleeting moment, be where we are.
If you’ve been reading my posts long enough, you’d have probably predicted I will end this blog post with yet another quote (yes, the frailties of a nerd). This time from Stephen Hawking, whose passing has left a blackhole in some of us who have been moved so much by his life and work:
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.
With this, I wish all of us to always be on our toes for the unfamiliar – new ideas, skills, technologies, innovations, concepts. May we be brave enough to walk off the beaten path. And ultimately, may we… Never. Stop. Learning.
