I can see the finish line! It’s only two weeks away.

Yes, the end of the semester is near. This will be my last spring semester at UT, and I find it a little scary. Naturally, I am stressing about final projects, grades, and exams. But this time, it’s especially important. I mean, I am about to graduate. So there’s a bit of an additional pressure going on.

But I am looking forward it. I am a hard worker, and I am pretty confident I can do it.

I’m just counting down the days.

Went to Gatlinburg with my buddies in Asian American Association (AAA). Went up to the Chimenys, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, rode Go-Karts (which was totally awesome), and did a TON of shopping at the Tanger Outlet mall.

Overall, I think the social event was really fun,  even though it was at times chaotic. It was the first whole Saturday I’ve had off since last year when the PT hours got cut. I think it was worth it.

Evangelists back on campus. Surprising considering not a week ago, similar gentlemen crossed with unhappy college students and sparked a religious/free speech debate here at UTK.

They weren’t doing too much harm, safe to say. Even the onlookers were pleasant…until the evangelists spoke  about the “real Scientific method,” “Asian people,” and “proper education,” in addition to “crimes of the flesh,” “sin,” and of course, “salvation.”

Received free Aerie/AE flip flops outside of HSS today. Totally made my day.

Walking by Lake Avenue on my way to the library and spotted 3 firetrucks. Weird, huh.

Now that Awareness Night is over, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Now, I can go back to classes, study harder, and hopefully, I can finish this semester off without a hitch. I still have quite a few assignments/projects/etc left to do, but what’s important is that I can focus.

The anticipation is excruciating. Yet the awesomeness is exciting.

p.s. Dieu’s face is hilarious.

No one knows better than UTK college students that Knoxville weather is ridiculous. It’s raining one day, snowing the next, 70 degrees another day and back to freezing sleet or ice storms within 12 hours.

Today was one of those freak sunny events after days of horrible freezing weather. Here’s a glimpse:

Funny thing about the whole situation is right before Spring Break, the sun appears. Like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Went to group advising today, because apparently JEM has revamped its entire catalogue (and is out to get all of us undergrads in the process).

I walked in completely unprepared (although I did bring all the necessary handouts). Because it looked like a hot mess frenzy free for all in there, I was a bit overwhelmed.

See, I have been working really hard for the past 3 years. I’ve changed my major and college once, done the summer school thing and even had a tutor because I was falling behind. All of this because I am a hard worker.

So why are many of my classmates not graduating on time? Because of budget cuts, there are not enough professors to teach enough sections to accommodate enough of Journailsm students. As a result, many of us graduate a semester or more later than anticipated.

What does that mean? After our scholarships run out, we’re paying out of pocket for extra classes in the summer or extra years because we can’t even get in to our classes!

For 2010, the college of Journalism and Electronic Media is changing formats once again. Forgive me for not jumping for joy, but for many of us already battling electives and petitioning for course credit, this is simply a pain in the butt. I should be very upset about this.

But wait, the funny thing is: I am not upset. Many of my classmates are struggling with classes and can’t even graduate on time. But I am not one of them.

I found out today that I am actually ahead. After discovering that the Asian studies program at UTK tanked, I switched majors halfway through my first year. For semesters, I have been battling my class schedule, taking extra classes, going to summer school, taking extra jobs and ultimately WORKING MY BUTT OFF. But here’s the thing: turns out I only have 5 classes left. I am graduating on semester early.

It dawned on me that after all the crap I went through for the first two years, the hard work I put in, and even the grief of summer school..

It was all worth it.

Okay,  maybe not yet. I don’t think I can actually say it was all worth it until I’m 45 happily retired and successful. Haha. But at least I can say it’s another step closer to what I actually want.

I hope that in a few months I can still say that. Maybe even as I walk across the stage at graduation, I’ll say something along the lines of, “Yes. I did it. This is another step. This is worth it.”

Soon.

Been working on a lot of Awareness Night and school work in the library. It’s not even March yet, so why am I so busy?

Who knows. Just gotta keep moving, I guess.