Nine Week Update

So, on my way out of class today, I realized that I have yet to give an update on my classes for the semester, unlike last year, when I updated on a monthly basis. What can I say, priorities are different these days? I have more of a life than in high school? (I know that one isn't necessarily true!) Who knows. Anyway, here is my update of classes and activities for the first half of this semester. Also, I will be able to enroll on Monday, more than likely, so I'm pretty pumped about that! I digress, here is my update!

Astronomy
I like this class. I don't like that this class is at 9:00, though; it's a little bit early to be discussing mysteries of the universe, in my opinion. Things are going well. So far, we have discussed history of the Universe, light, planets, and are currently discussing stars. My teacher is probably the best part of the class, as he is hysterical, in my opinion. To paint a better picture, he is in his mid-sixties to early seventies, and has been in the Astronomy game for at least forty years. He has told us about his dog named Proton (he actually named two dogs Proton, but his wife wouldn't let him use that name for the third dog). He claims to be in constant correspondence with Astronomy dignitaries at other universities, including the author of our textbook. He also told us that he nearly got in a fistfight with a NASA official at the White House because my teacher asked for grant money...I'm pretty skeptical about that one, honestly. Regardless, this class is nice. I like the labs, both day and night labs, and I have seen lots of interesting things from our night sky, including Jupiter and other random nebulae. Love it!

College Algebra
This class is very easy for me, as it is basically a review of Algebra II. The worst part of this class is the obnoxious clan of high school girls that are taking the class concurrently. I sound like a hypocrite in saying that I don't like the concurrent students, since I WAS one last year; however, I am certain that I didn't act like they do in any of my classes last year. They also insist on incessantly flirting with a basketball player in our class, which particularly grinds on my nerves. I will avoid discussing that anymore, but this class is going well otherwise.

Plane Trigonometry
I enjoy this class thoroughly. I am thankful that I had a great high school Trig teacher, because that is making this class much easier for me. We just finished a section on trigonometric identities, and I have no idea why this is so, but those were much easier for me now than they were in high school. I had so much trouble with identities in high school, but I had no trouble whatsoever in my college class. Seems odd, but it's true. Now we have moved onward and upward to the Laws of Sine and Cosine (my favorite), vectors (They remind me of "Despicable Me"), and polar numbers (those aren't too terribly bad).

Freshman Orientation
There isn't too much to say about orientation, but it is going well, regardless. I don't enjoy that it is at 8:30 AM, but the fact that my teacher is definitely a morning person makes it a little bit easier. (She is caffeinated and ready for action at 8:30.) Also, I won't have to go to this class after November 15th, so that makes it even better!

Comp II
I love writing. Everyone reading this should know that by now.
I don't love this class. At all.
It isn't terrible, but it definitely isn't my favorite. (Trig is, by the way, if you were curious, which I'm sure you weren't.) As we progress, I my disdain for this class only grows. The first essay went well, and I had an easy time writing it, as we had to write on the contrary of a widely held belief. My second essay was tougher for me, as I had to think of an issue in education, and find three sources on EBSCO (I really hate that website.) regarding the subject. I finally settled for writing about the issues with American math and science education. I actually ended up getting a very good grade on my paper, although I think it had lots to do with the fact that I have good grammar in my writing. My teacher actually told me that he enjoyed being able to read my essays and not having to constantly mark comma splices and fragments as he does in most of the essays. The last essay I wrote was mentally difficult. We had to do a rhetorical analysis, which is basically writing about writing. I didn't like it, but I fear that that wasn't the end of it. We had the choice of analyzing a CS Lewis essay or the Declaration of Independence. Because the CS Lewis essay was too dense for my taste, I settled for the Declaration, which I thought was much easier to analyze.
I will be glad to have finished this class, and never have to take another comp class ever again.
I will be glad when the primary source of my writing is only for pleasure in my blog.

Activities
-PLC: So far, this group has been good to be a part of (besides the fact that that is the reason I have a free ride.). Earlier this month, we went to OKC Rocks with the Tonkawa PLC, and it was a fun time, although the Tonkawa group isn't my favorite. We have also had to attend a few on-campus lectures by OU history professor, Dr. Fears. His lectures were about events that changed American history. We only had to attend two of his lectures, and I have only attended one so far. (The last one is next Monday.) PLC was also in charge of the blood drive we held yesterday on campus, and I was also able to donate!

-Lit Club: I truly love the Lit Club! It is a small group, but everyone is so fun to be around. The biggest activity the Lit Club has going right now is that we are hosting an NOC night at the Gaslight Theater this weekend, when they produce the play "And Then There Were None", which is based on the Agatha Christie novel. (And my cousin, Evan is in it!) I am excited about attending, and will probably purchase my ticket either today or tomorrow!

Here's to a good last half of this semester!