Work/ School Balance

I know that sounds like an oxymoron. How can you struggle with an easy class? It’s easy. You have the mindset that it’s an easy class and do everything else you want to.

I am taking Advanced Research Writing, which is a 300-level class. For those of you who aren’t familiar with levels of classes in college, it’s a high class. I like the class and I love the topic I’ve chosen. Yes, I got to pick my topic for the research. Here’s the problem. I’ve done everything we’re learning how to do many, many times in my classes. I have been taking literature and writing classes for three years so it’s not a struggle to do the project.

I have three problems with this class though. The first is that I know it’s an easy class so I’m not putting all of my effort into it like I would for other classes. I can type up an annotated bibliography and paper easily, as long as I have the info. I have a rough draft of my paper due Tuesday and I haven’t even touched it. I will today though. My brain knows I’ve been beyond burned out with things going on in my life, work, and school. It knows I need a break, which is why this class is actually good. But my brain has decided I need to decompress and not really work on school. How can my brain tell me that? I don’t know. I’m a writer, it’s wired differently. Maybe a psychologist would be able to pick it all apart and tell me. Doesn’t matter to me, I know my brain is wired differently, like it is for all creative people, I just go with it.

The second problem is that my teacher is doing a fantastic job of teaching and has us send in an assignment and sends it back, allowing us to make changes and resubmit. Great teaching skills, but there’s that brain again saying it doesn’t have to put everything into the project because I get to go back and make changes.

The brain is also to blame for the third problem. I picked a topic I’ve been writing a book about. I have been able to add scenes to my book thanks to the topic. But that means I’m writing and not focusing on my homework. While writing is important, passing the class is also important. Priorities! But with a writer’s brain, you get the idea and you get it down on paper (or computer) when it hits. So I’ve also been writing.

So there you have it, the curse of an easy class. I’ve been doing other things that probably should be done (except watching Grimm, while good it does not NEED to be done, but maybe needs it a little). My next class is also easy, but with things going on it may be pushed back to the fall. Who knows.