The Fall 2013 semester…is over…already! It feels as though it just started, but I'm glad it's over anyway. This semester was, by far, the most productive and interesting semester I've had. It was challenging (for multiple reasons, some reasons I alluded to in previous posts), fun and I learned, to use rather insignificant words, 'a lot' about myself. Hands-on courses have been the most challenging for me, and knowing that, I knew Rhetoric of Nonlinear Documents would be influential. There were sparkles, shards of mirror and tears, but I was correct, I learned an unbelievable amount and figured out (finally) that I'm capable of doing/producing/thinking/writing more than I believed I could. I have three favorite professors and two of them are from this past semester. These professors have a few things in common; they required quality work (a lot of it) and their courses made me think. Of course their sphere of influence reached many more than just I. I made friends (!!!) (I know, you're thinking, 'that's not easy for an INTJ). One of them decided he didn't want a corporate job, he wanted to travel and "work with my [his] hands!" One professor convinced me--it didn't take much convincing--that it's 'obvious' I should continue with education. I'll never forget what he said; in particular that it's so clear I have what it takes to succeed in graduate school. So that's my plan--grad school. Key word; visual rhetoric.
Before I forget, I'm
super excited about my extra curricular activities for Spring. I'll be coauthoring an article on image and word with a professor (I'm still working on taking a broad topic and focusing in on one manageable aspect) which will, hopefully and most likely, be published in a journal. If I were to publish as an undergrad, and I apply for doctoral programs with that on my resume...well that's three head nods as one professor gestured.
I may have the opportunity to work on an editorial job for the chair of the school as well. So now that I'm on holiday, I'm preparing for Spring. I'll be reading Walter Ong's Orality and Literacy, finishing The Magic Mountain, IRB training and teaching myself Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. Thank god for Lynda.com... This is going to be the most productive holiday break--ever.
