Dear Me:

"I AM WOMAN; HEAR ME ROAR!" (Burton & Reddy) I have completed 10 weeks of summer school. I have stared fear in the face, and I have crushed it. I have stepped up to the plate, and I have batted a thousand. I have made me proud: Proud of who I am, proud of what I have accomplished. I am stronger, more self disciplined, and more learned. Frankly, I AM AMAZING.

In the beginning, I told myself that I couldn't survive 10 weeks of research; But I did survive. I AM A SURVIVOR. I am living proof of what can be accomplished with self determination. I quit whining and I did what I had to do:

I researched.
I formulated.
I devised.
I wrote.
I revised.
I created.
I revised again.
I explored.
I pondered.
I wrote.
I wondered.
I laughed.
I cried.
I revised some more.
I worked for hours on end.
I tweeked.
I polished.
I FINISHED.

Somewhere in my the depths of my mind, I knew I could it. No one ever doubted my ability, but me. I tried not to compare my work with others; I tried to delight in my own work. I realized that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
I behold my work, and it is beautiful.

I am thankful for the experience.
I am thankful for my mind.
I am thankful for the trying times; thankful for the easy times, for in those I have grown as a person.
But most of all, I am thankful for the growing friendships that make me complete.

What words of wisdom can I leave for those who are soon to follow in my footsteps? First of all, work diligently on your project. Procrastination is your enemy in this class. If you don't keep up with your work, death is not far behind.......

Secondly, treasure the peer reviews. I realized too late that peer reviews are a great way to enhance your project. Most of the time, I did just enough work on my genres to get them posted. In the end, I changed most of my genres in a drastic way. Looking back, I wasted my peer reviews on a piece that I probably never had any intention of using. Then I realized that I should have been working diligently from week 1.

Thirdly, HAVE FUN! Doing the MRP is so much more interesting than a typical research paper. It gives you some freedom to be creative, and show off your talent. I won't lie and tell you that it's all fun and games, because it isn't. But take heart, the summer class was the guinea pigs. We are at here to help you along the way. We have "been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt."

Lastly, take a deep breath. Try to remain calm. Add this class in with a full load of other classes, and the word "overwhelming" is probably an understatement. That is why I urge you to work diligently from the start. It will make your life much easier.

I can't believe that I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nine weeks ago I thought that I had an eternity to wait until my one week of vacation. Now I see that I only have one more short week left to go. I am so ready to relax by the emerald green ocean, sunning on the sugar white sand.

Well I decided that week 9 was a fine week to get my booty in gear concerning polishing my MRP, especially my genres. I'm really glad I had this revelation.....:) My goal was to finish the assignments for the week early on, and then work on my genres for the rest of the week. I have finished all of my assignments for the week, except for my draft of references. I have most of them already done, except for a few. I have been working very diligently on my genres the past few days. Andrea and I are really figuring out what it means to share this week. We both can't be online at the same time, so that means working on our projects can't happen at the same time. I have been going over to the Rushtons' a few hours before I have to keep Fiona and working on my project. That has worked out really well because Andrea and I don't have to fight over the phone line. Fiona's mom was a lifesaver for me. She gave me her laptop to use, which has Powerpoint 2000. It has been great because here again Andrea and I were having to share because I don't have PP on my computer. So needless to say, I have gotten quite a bit of work done this week.

Honestly, there are two things that I regret. One is that I haven't worked this hard on my genres during the previous weeks. I did work on them, but probably not as much as I should have. So it wasn't my best effort that was peer reviewed. Now that I have really put time and effort into my genres, I realized that I wasted my peer reviews on 2nd class work out of myself. I guess the heat got the better of me. It's funny though, I always remember Flannery telling me that he thought I did my best work "under pressure." Maybe he was right.....

Another wild thing has been reading my peer reviews. My group has been so kind and sincere with my genres. Everyone had mostly good things to say, with an occasional address comment. This was both a good thing, and a bad thing. Good because they liked my work, but bad because now I am paranoid that maybe *ALL* of us are missing something essential in my work. I was thinking tonight...."If they thought my other genres were good, these new and improved genres ought to be first class...." We'll see about that. But like I said, my first effort at the genres weren't my best effort (with the exception of my guest editorial....honestly I was pretty proud of that piece of work!! :) It has definitely been an interesting week. I keep looking back on what I could/should have done. You know what they say: "Hindsight is 20/20" I'll go with that. Part of me wishes I could go back a few weeks and redo them... I guess that's the insane part of me. Right now my goal is to make my genres look like I spent 7 weeks on them, not 3. :) I want to be really proud of my work, but I'm not sure I can until I see that grade! That will be the "tell all" part of the class for me.

Pretty crazy week on the West Side....... Like Andrea, I'm sorry we never had the class over for a party. But at least we got to bond at the Marshall Cafe the other day!! It won't be long until we are bonding again in SH 108!!! But let's not think about that right now!

Oh, this ought to be a laugh for everyone. You guys will never guess who I saw today......our long lost pal STEVE!! Now that boy gives Buckhannon a good name!! We didn't really chat, but it was hilarious anyway. I don't think that I have seen him since he left the CD program. I was wondering what ever happened to that boy.......

~Lots of encouragement going out to everyone as they work on their projects!! I know its nice to get encouragement during this stressful time. What happened to the weeks that seemed to crawl by.... now you blink and they are over!~

It has been so hot outside this week, that I have had absolutely no drive whatsoever. I kept the baby every day this week, which kept me out of the hot and muggy weather. I am just amazed that week 8 is already over. Where has the time gone?? I don't even feel as if I have had a summmer....and that's not a real refreshing feeling.

The assignments were relatively light this week...I hopped on my peer reviews early Monday morning before going to work. After those were done, I settled into a week off. I know that's not a good thing, but it's too late to turn back now. Next week will definitely have to be different. I am still contemplating my rough drafts of our preface, acknowledgements, etc. Honestly, I am struggling a little with what to put in my acknowledgments section. I really didn't have any earth shaking revelations about what to do my project on....I just sat down and started thinking. I can't even remember where the idea for AAC came from, I just remember thinking that it would be an interesting topic. The only recognition I can give is to my group and Mrs. McComas for the helpful peer reviews. The only other thing I can thank would be my brain for constantly trudging through.......:)

Who knows? Maybe I will be a little ambitious tonight and post at least part of my rough drafts. My revisions just keep stacking up on me. Hopefully I won't drown......

I am relatively sure that I know how to tie this all together, although I haven't actually written it down on paper. I need a little clarification, though....our MRP is going to be presented as an entry in our blog, correct? We need to write a mini-story that ties it all together?? I just want to make sure that I have my head screwed on straight.

I am always very nervous about reading peer reviews. I am always anxious about what others think of my pieces. I know that some aren't as strong as others, so I am afraid of getting a harsh review. But then again it's my own fault for not making them as strong as they could be. I actually am wondering if I should have written this journal tonight....I am extremely tired and a little on the emotional side. I bet this journal entry is much different than any of the others I have written. Sorry!

Well, I think I have covered everything that is on my mind. Hopefully next week will be more exhilirating than this one. I am desperately trying to keep the faith....knowing that I only have 2 more weeks left to go before FLORIDA!!