I had a lot going on this week that had me feeling lucky.
I've had four final projects due this week. Four projects wouldn't be so bad if they were replacing final exams. But all of them are in addition to final exams.
I had to do projects for ELang 273, Empirical Methods in English Linguistics, and ELang 468, Varieties of English. I was lucky enough that I was able to do one project for both of these classes. If I had to do different ones, I don't know if I would have been able to get everything done. I analyzed gender differences in punctuation on Facebook. I got a perfect score on my paper for 273. I added a few paragraphs and a few references to make the paper long enough for 468. I'm hoping that since it was perfect for 273, it will be good enough for 468.
My other papers were for Editing and Geomorphology. I had to edit a paper for five hours and then write a report about it. I had asked my roommate if I could edit one of his papers, but he didn't have it done in time, so he asked one of our home teachees if I could edit a paper of hers. She gave me one. And after I edited it for five hours (all in one day), I found out it's an outdated paper. Oh well. At least it's over. I don't think I did a very good job on the paper, but at least it's over.
I was really worried about Geomorph (that's what all the cool geology people call it). On Monday I went into the geology lab to work on the project, not knowing what I was going to do. We had to measure things and write about what we learn. My thought was, "What will I be able to write about just from measuring stuff?" So I measured a bunch of the cinder cones around Mt. Etna. And I made a discovery! The biggest cinder cones, which are probably the youngest, are the furthest west, which means that the stratovolcano is probably gradually shifting to the east, which is supported by some of the literature I found. I was luckily able to finish it, and it was definitely long enough. I don't know how good it is (it definitely sounds more like a paper from the College of the Humanities, instead of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences), but hopefully it's good enough.
I'm worried about finals, because all these projects mean that I haven't been able to do much finals studying. I was thinking, mostly joking, "Why do I do this to myself?"
But then I had a drinking fountain epiphany, and I realized that thinking thoughts like that is a terrible thing to think.
I was done with a class on Monday, and whenever I pass a drinking fountain, I like to take a drink. I passed one fountain, but there was only one fountain at this location. There was a girl filling up her water bottle, and I didn't want to wait, and I thought about how if I had a water bottle with me, I would have also filled mine up. After all, my tuition pays for me using the water.
But then I realized that I don't pay tuition! This semester I have both a scholarship and a federal grant. I say this not to brag, but simply to say how lucky and blessed I feel. I'm getting a free education. How can I possibly say "Why do I do this to myself?" I'm extraordinarily lucky! And since my grant exceeds the amount I needed for tuition, it covers other things as well. So in addition to a free education, I'm getting free room and board.
But the luckiness doesn't stop there. I don't just get to go to classes for free; I get free access to all of the university's facilities. Not only do I get drinking fountain privileges, I get to use the university's computers, the library and its services (like voice recorders), the geology rock and stream table labs, the beautiful grounds, the piano classroom, the tax-exempt food and school supplies, and the exercise facilities (although I'm fat and lazy so I don't use those. But I could.) All of this is for free! (Well, I have to pay for food and school supplies, but I don't have to pay for them to be tax exempt.)
I even got a free, all-expenses-paid trip to Death Valley!
I'm lucky I got the grant. Earlier this year, when I was applying for scholarships, I thought I might as well apply for a grant, but I didn't expect to get one. It seemed to be a lot of work, so I just decided to forget about it. But because I didn't have it complete, it was going to affect my scholarship processing. So I wanted to just withdraw the FAFSA application, but that was going to be more difficult than just fulfilling it.
I was surprised when I got a grant! Apparently I'm so ancient (can you believe I'm 24?!) that my parents' income no longer plays a factor into grant processing. I don't know if I'll apply for a grant again. Sure, I like it, but I don't feel it's ethical when there are other people who are worse off than I am. We'll see what happens.
This weekend my ward had an auction to raise money for a middle-aged woman whose husband left her with four kids. She works full time and goes to school full time and is having a hard time making ends meet. Our auction raised over $1000 for her! I offered editing papers as an item to auction, since I don't really have any other talents. I bought some homemade beanies. I'd say how much I spent, but then I feel like a miser, considering how lucky I am. But I did spend more money than the hats are worth. And I don't even wear hats!
I am a very selfish person. Considering all the blessings I have, I need to be more generous.
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