I picked the online school I am attending for a few reasons: it didn’t require GRE scores, it is all online, the classes are asynchronous, and there is a 3-hour time difference. The main selling points were that classes were asynchronous and that I have 3 hours of extra time to get my work done and turned in online. Recently, I used them both to my advantage. Hurricane Florence was expected to ravage my area. It was to be so bad that my area had a mandatory evacuation notice broadcast three days before the hurricane was supposed to hit. While the weather was beautiful, and I went to work the next day, I packed my bags just in case. The first things I packed were my school items, followed closely by the twenty library books I checked out (I was not going to be paying for any books that could potentially get wet or damaged). On Wednesday, the city was preparing by shutting down schools. I was preparing to evacuate – well, I my car was already packed. My preparations including texting one of my sisters to see if she would be excused from work due to evacuations, and I was obsessively watching GMA to see Nancy McKeon do an interview for Dancing with the Stars (go #TeamMcVal). Throughout the craziness of working and evacuating due to Hurricane Florence, only two thoughts came to my mind: just in case, I need to get to safer place and I have a paper to write. Yes, I had my first grad paper due while Hurricane Florence was coming. It was an analytical paper and even though I’m an English major, they’re not my favorite type of paper to write. I had to learn a new way to cite more sources (APA – ugh), and it just felt daunting to me. I’m much more of a creative writer and prefer those assignments than analyzing texts. Some English major I am. Did I also mention it was my birthday weekend? I had already planned not to do any school work on my birthday but that was quickly changing due to the hurricane getting closer and closer. As soon as I got to my parent’s place, I jumped onto my computer and asked my professor for an extension on my paper. I was making good progress on it, I had started near the beginning of the semester when I saw that it was assigned, but worrying about the hurricane, if my sister would be safe for one more night, if my friends would be safe when the hurricane came through, if my best friend would be safe in another state, my paper wasn’t that important. I still did some work, but my progress had slowed significantly. The hurricane ended up shifting further south so all my area got was wind and some rain. My paper extension was approved, and my sister made it up before the hurricane was to make landfall in our area before shifting. With all that good news coming in, I didn’t think about my paper. I didn’t worry about my paper, because the deadline was already extended. I just focused on celebrating my birthday, which I ended up being somewhat sick for since I caught a small cold the day before. Don’t worry, I did finish my paper before the new extension date and I did received a good grade. So, when people ask me how online schooling is, I usually say the same things: I get to work at my own pace, I can get ahead and stay ahead, I get a 3-hour cushion for my assignments, and I don’t have to take classes at the same time as everyone else. However, I did find a downside. Even with a hurricane, your work is still due (eventually). -SJ
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"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you." - Walt Whitman Archives
January 2022
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