Fall break is coming to an end...
If the title has you thinking that I'm remotely sad about that, I'm not! Fall break over - fall semester full fledged ahead! Ah! It's half over now - which means halfway to the second semester (of doom?) but that means that much closer to getting outta Ripon for good!! Not that I'm excited by that prospect, even though the thought of the real world is somewhat scary as well...
I really do regret not going on the ACM Chicago arts semester this semester though. Though I think going back to Ripon after a summer in Ohio and a semester in Chicago would have been nothing short of a nightmare, but it would have only been for one very busy semester. Well, hindsight is 20/20, I guess. Had I known last year at this time what was going to happen during the oh-so-fun months of second semester junior year, I would have probably not gone to Chicago then either. Yep, I would have hightailed it out of Ripon for good, either by working my ass off to graduate at semester or taking the chickenshit way out and heading to finish my undergraduate degree elsewhere...
Not going to Chicago isn't my biggest regret though.
My biggest regret is not even really pursuing the whole Lawrence thing. What was I thinking? I feel right now that three years into college, my experiences with my performances/teachers/opportunities have gotten me no further than I was when I was doe-eyed out of high school. I have only two real things to add to my resume - and both were back in the stone ages anyway...the OSO gig, and the FDL Messiah performance. My goal is to be a private teacher when I graduate - and how will I promote my skills in that?? Since graduating from high school, I've had one student, and one lesson on that to boot. Huh? How do I expect to get hired when my resume of teaching stops in 2001?? I suppose I can hope that my experiences of my first students will give the opportunities to teach when I get out of college, and maybe can add on a few more students while I'm still in college too. But who knows? I really do love teaching, not in schools, but definitely on the one-on-one level.
So many regrets, but not the time to dwell.
Anyway, I guess that sticking around for second semester of my junior year wasn't so bad, afterall. I did have fun for the first half when I was still with the boy, and whereas it did seem like just falling off the face of the earth was a better idea than actually going through the day-to-day motions after he broke up with me was more appealing, I have to admit to having a great time (after the initial pain reaction wore off, and once we started 'seeing' each other again). I did hang out with a LOT of GREAT people and probably got to know some people more than I would have. And I met people I probably would have never talked to ever if aside from in passing and got to know them pretty well too.
Once again, hindsight is 20/20, and while I wouldn't repeat that semester for the world, I definitely would repeat parts of it, maybe selectively, though. How about I get rid of some parts of the last week of school but keep around others??? :)
Anyway, got to get a cake out of the oven in just a few short minutes...yay for baking (even if it is out of a box!)!
- posted by L. @ 3:42 PM