Sunday, December 26, 2004

Recently I received all of my grades for this semester, and while I did amazing well in almost all of my classes, I've noticed something interesting about my overall performance per semester.

This semester my class/grade breakdown is as follows:


  • Anthropology - A
  • Debate - A
  • Speech - A
  • Japanese - C
  • Energy - A
  • Swimming - P
Not bad at all, by any means. Ok, so I dislike the fact that I got a "C", and I dislike the fact that it's in one of the required classes for my minor, and I dislike the fact that I got it from a fuckwad professor...but other than that I'm very happy with my performance this semester.

Still, a pattern exists per semester. A pattern also seems to be forming with my Math and Japanese classes as well.

The first pattern, I'm hoping, is solely coincidental. It seems that every semester I've managed to get at least one "C" while the rest of my grades are great. The first two "C"s (by semester) were both in Math courses (Pre-Calculus, then Survey of Calculus). Considerably, that's really not that bad either. However, in terms of GPA (which probably doesn't mean much of anything anymore; except to people like Nancy H. who would pull a motherfucking "H-Bomb" if she ever received a single "B" in her college career) it's not a good thing. If I average at least one C every semester, my GPA cannot be higher than a 3.6 when I graduate. Not that that's a big deal, but it just bothers me that I'm not getting a higher GPA.

The second pattern I've noticed lies in my performance by course, specifically Math and Japanese. Math, as a general rule, at my college is a horrible field to deal with because the department has a reported 72% failure rate and doesn't care that it's that high. So, getting "C"s in those courses is considered "decent" by typical standards (Typical being that a C is considered average). However, if the past two "C"s I have received are any indication of my grades to come in math, there might be some problems since I'm taking Calculus I next semester, and I want to do better in terms of overall GPA. Japanese, on the other hand, has had a declining grade average compared to math. During my first semester of Japanese I received an "A", then I received a "B" during the next semester, and, recently, a "C" this semester (but I believe most of it was in part to the douchery that infested the course during this semester [i.e. my shitty professor]). Regardless, my grades in Japanese have been slipping and it's kind of got me worried--especially since it's my minor. Now, I don't think I'll get a "D" in 202, but the thought has crossed my mind that I might not do well next semester if I have to juggle Math and Japanese again. After all, that's what led to my "B" in Japanese last spring semester. As such, I'm concerned that Calculus this semester might lead to the same thing or worse when added to the given douchery of the class this semester.

I'm probably jumping the gun in making these assertions. After all, classes don't start for another two weeks, and I don't even know what my Calculus class will require of me. And yet, it worries me given my past record. It worries me given the previous course in Japanese and all its douchery, especially since I have not one, but TWO classes with the aforementioned Japanese professor.

Play it by ear? Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. It's the "shock and awe" of it that worries me.

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