Jenny P (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} anijen21) wrote,@ 2008-03-30 18:12:00 |
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Backwards and Forwards
So Spring Break is over. I didn't update much, sorry, just that weird post about my great-grandmother's teeth. The guy at the gold exchange said that wasn't the first time someone had brought in teeth, and he bought them, so I didn't feel too weird about it. Anyway, I didn't update much because honestly, when there's nothing I need to do, I don't do anything. I don't know what it is. I spend more time having fun when I'm busy than when I'm not. I don't know if it's because of some weird psychological kind of kleptomania where I can only have a good time if I know there's something else I should legitimately be doing, but with nothing to do, I park myself in front of the TV and run back and forth through all the HBOs like a tide. Or maybe that's just my default position.
This is my last quarter of college. I'm really scared. I'm only taking three classes, and they're all only on Mondays and Wednesdays, so it will be my least busy quarter ever. I don't have a job yet, but I'm not too worried. I'm covered through September. I'm still thinking about moving out to L.A. after all is said and done. I feel like I'm doing it now because I'm ~*over*~ the Midwest or whatever, but I'm also fairly certain as soon as I step foot on sandy Los Angeles I'll just want to go home. Very scary.
I was thinking about something on the train, and I realized I finally know how to write a paper. Like for a class, I mean. Most of the papers I have done have been experiments, a little bit with subject matter, but mostly with time. And calling them that is really just avoiding saying I didn't spend very much time on them. In fact, my goal was to complete them as fast as possible. This is partly because in my experience, spending more time on a paper doesn't necessarily mean it will result in a better grade. Most have actually been worse. The papers I have done well on were better for one reason only, I think: They made a claim. They said something, and that something was something that most people would consider wrong. For instance, a 10-page paper I wrote in three hours got an A-/B+, solely because my thesis was that "The Taming of the Shrew" was a tragedy and not a comedy. Was it well-written? No. I don't even remember what I used to prove my thesis. But THAT was a thesis. THAT is something someone reads and says, "WHAT??" I think that's all you really need for a good paper in college. Not a solid argument, not a particularly eloquent writing style, what you need is shock value. If you can get a teacher who has to get through 40 other essays by this Monday to stand up and say "WHAT??", you've got at least a B+.
Which made me realize, even in academia, which is defined by mental state, I think a person can get by without lots of smarts. Heart might get you noticed, and brains are pretty necessary, but it's not what will get you success. What makes one succeed, in academia and probably elsewhere, is:
And if saying "The Taming of the Shrew" is a tragedy and not a comedy is the best I got, then I'd say I have some work to do.
So Spring Break is over. I didn't update much, sorry, just that weird post about my great-grandmother's teeth. The guy at the gold exchange said that wasn't the first time someone had brought in teeth, and he bought them, so I didn't feel too weird about it. Anyway, I didn't update much because honestly, when there's nothing I need to do, I don't do anything. I don't know what it is. I spend more time having fun when I'm busy than when I'm not. I don't know if it's because of some weird psychological kind of kleptomania where I can only have a good time if I know there's something else I should legitimately be doing, but with nothing to do, I park myself in front of the TV and run back and forth through all the HBOs like a tide. Or maybe that's just my default position.
This is my last quarter of college. I'm really scared. I'm only taking three classes, and they're all only on Mondays and Wednesdays, so it will be my least busy quarter ever. I don't have a job yet, but I'm not too worried. I'm covered through September. I'm still thinking about moving out to L.A. after all is said and done. I feel like I'm doing it now because I'm ~*over*~ the Midwest or whatever, but I'm also fairly certain as soon as I step foot on sandy Los Angeles I'll just want to go home. Very scary.
I was thinking about something on the train, and I realized I finally know how to write a paper. Like for a class, I mean. Most of the papers I have done have been experiments, a little bit with subject matter, but mostly with time. And calling them that is really just avoiding saying I didn't spend very much time on them. In fact, my goal was to complete them as fast as possible. This is partly because in my experience, spending more time on a paper doesn't necessarily mean it will result in a better grade. Most have actually been worse. The papers I have done well on were better for one reason only, I think: They made a claim. They said something, and that something was something that most people would consider wrong. For instance, a 10-page paper I wrote in three hours got an A-/B+, solely because my thesis was that "The Taming of the Shrew" was a tragedy and not a comedy. Was it well-written? No. I don't even remember what I used to prove my thesis. But THAT was a thesis. THAT is something someone reads and says, "WHAT??" I think that's all you really need for a good paper in college. Not a solid argument, not a particularly eloquent writing style, what you need is shock value. If you can get a teacher who has to get through 40 other essays by this Monday to stand up and say "WHAT??", you've got at least a B+.
Which made me realize, even in academia, which is defined by mental state, I think a person can get by without lots of smarts. Heart might get you noticed, and brains are pretty necessary, but it's not what will get you success. What makes one succeed, in academia and probably elsewhere, is:
And if saying "The Taming of the Shrew" is a tragedy and not a comedy is the best I got, then I'd say I have some work to do.
