Thinking back over everything I’ve accomplished while in this class leaves me feeling good about myself. I would have never thought that I could do a webliography. I have never talked on-line to anyone. So at first I must admit I was very apprehensive about doing both of these. Now once its over I’m thinking that wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I actually enjoyed doing both.

I was sweating it though when I was in Drinko trying to find an open computer. I searched the first and second floors and finally found one on third as it was getting close to 4:00. That probably was my scariest moment.

I had already looked at week four assignments and had revised my foundation/essential questions. But after our meeting on Wednesday it gave me new ideas. So my aims and objectives for week four are: determine who my audience is going to be. For instance I really don’t need to go into details about what a swallowing disorder is if I am speaking to a professor or other SLPs. I also am thinking about rewriting some of my foundation questions to make them more clearer. I really feel good about them but I can see room for improvement especially after talking to Allison in-group.

I also hope to get a good start on Week four assignments so once again I won’t feel as pressured since I have several other demanding classes. I notice that there are several search assignments for the week and that always takes me quite a bit of time. Also, I’ve been reading the mail I receive from the professional mailing list on dysphagia and I actually can understand some of the things they are talking about and others are completely over my head. I don’t know and maybe I am even kidding myself but I feel better about this semester compared to all my others while in the CD program. There are times when I think that I’m getting the hang of it and when I read something or hear something it clicks.

Main focus for the week is for this sponge to enjoy the ride.

Geneva:)

Well I decided to get an early start on my journal and get this part out of the way. Week three hasn’t been that bad except for the remembrance of September 11. Class was canceled Wednesday night, which worked out really well for me since we wanted to attend the memorial service at the high school. Unfortunately, we had to leave around 8:30 because my niece had homework and so did I.

Productive thought for this week is organization. Since I bought my Dayminder I haven’t felt as pressured. I guess its because I have everything written down in one place and I’m trying really hard not to become obsessive and compulsive over my classes.

My aims and objectives for week 3 are to complete the assignments ahead of schedule so I can have some breathing room. I began working on my assignments a couple of nights ago and if my computer worker a little faster I’d probably be less stressed. As I was sitting there trying to subscribe to the professional mailing list I was wondering what is taking so long. My computer is so slow sometimes it drives me nuts. I found the name search assignment to be a frustrating experience. The reason why I feel this way is because all the search engines that I’ve been using have brought up the same info. It seems all the databases have the same resources. Another problem for the week was that I couldn’t get the Vark Inventory to work. I’m going to try again later tonight just in case it’s working now. That assignment looks like a lot of fun. Friday night and Saturday I worked on my Webliography. This is the first time I have ever created anything like this. So when I finished I couldn't believe that I could actually accomplish a project like this. I guess maybe for some people its not that big of deal but for me it was monumental. I wanted everyone to see what I had done. Wow!

Oh well I had a real scare this week. It was when I printed off the MRP instructions. It looks frightening. I am wondering how in the world am I going to be able to do all this. Even though I’m dreading all the work some of the projects actually look fun and exciting. I’ve never written a poem before and I’ve definitely never considered myself to be creative so I’m looking forward to learning how to do something new.

Oh well just another challenge or I could say ocean to swim on my long journey of education. I keep telling myself I’m the SPONGE and I’m gonna be okay.

I began thinking about what I would write in my journal for this week on Monday or Labor Day while riding my bike.

I thought what is it about reading material connected to school that I dislike so much. I’ve always considered myself to be someone who enjoys reading or even an avid reader and I really don’t understand why I dislike reading school assignments. When I read a book for pleasure I can tell you all sorts of details about the story but when I read for school I have to force myself. Forcing myself usually results in my retaining very little of the info. So I thought and thought and considered maybe it was because someone told me I had to do it. I ruled that out because for most of my life someone, somewhere has always been telling me what to do. Maybe growing up I got the idea that reading for school was bad. I don’t know. Then in 426 class on Thursday Ms. McComas mentioned that academic books were written in passive voice and novels were written in active voice. And maybe this could explain why academic books usually ended up being boring. A light came on when she said this and I thought maybe voice is the reason why I don’t like reading assignments for school. Oh well….I really don’t know for sure what my problem is but I wish I would find out.

Onto my aims and objectives for this week. After reading Kelly’s journal I decided to be a copycat and get myself a schedule book. I too am disorganized. I mean everyday I’m pulling out every class syllabus making sure I haven’t overlooked anything that’s due for the next day. By doing this I’m beginning to feel disorganized and overwhelmed. So I’m going to Wal-Mart ASAP and pull myself together. One other piece of advice that
Ms. McComas mentioned is taking one thing at a time. Think about what is due next and not thinking about the whole semester. Boy did I need to hear this. That’s Excellent with a capital E, advice for me.

As I work towards completing the assignments for week two I realize that I have done some deep thinking actually more than I’ve done in a long long time. For me to open up and share my innermost feelings about myself with everyone is difficult and sometimes embarrassing. But there’s just something about Ms. McComas because she continually challenges me, pushes me, and makes me want to do my best that I’ve really dug deep for these assignments. I’m still working on Essential Questions but I plan on finishing that tomorrow.

Last I just want to add that I thought when we got to be seniors there would be a lot of work and there is but there’s something else going on. Maybe it’s because we are doing more application than ever and we want some written rules given to us. I think a lot of us are also thinking about the GRE and grad school as we always seem to be looking ahead instead of focusing on the here and now. Well my main goal is: take one day at a time and make the best of it.

Geneva