Preparing for my Intro to Proofs course this Fall…
I am edging ever closer to pure mathematics now that I’ve moved past my Calculus cluster! Oh, and did I mention that I got an A in Calc 3? Awesome! This semester will be rather chaotic and it’s causing me a lot of anxiety. I will be taking a course on Introduction to Programming with C++, Differential Equations, Intro to Proofs (of course), Linear Algebra, and a theory class called Knowing and Learning.
This semester has already caused a multitude of headaches.
Headache #1
To begin with, the advisement I’ve received has been shoddy at best. I have two advisers, one through the College of Education and the other through the mathematics department. Time and again, my education adviser informed me that my two natural sciences requirements are already met. When I went to my new mathematics adviser, I was informed that I need four natural sciences, meaning I’d need to take an additional two. This was news to me, and I scrambled to get into an introductory physics class in order to stay on track for graduation.
Flash forward to last week:
I’m looking through my program requirements and read “Natural Sciences (6 credits)”. Double back: 6 credits. As in two 3-credit classes. Which I had ALREADY taken. I email my math adviser, explain everything I already explained previously, but this time am told that my natural science requirements are already met. So two weeks before classes begin, when most courses are already filled to capacity, I have to drop the unnecessary class and scramble to replace it with something more useful. Such frustration.
Headache #2
I am taking a hefty load of courses. Three maths, computer science, and a theory course. Knowing and Learning should be cake, but the others are going to require plenty of study on my part. That’s not the headache part. I have been told repeatedly that the computer science courses at my college are nightmares. There are only two CS professors, a husband and wife team. Apparently neither of them bother to actually teach. Essentially, they just hand you the book, tell you to read it, and then expect you to write an entire program independently. I have zero background in programming, so this was causing major anxiety for me. Imagining hours of struggling through code on top of three math classes and working part-time is not a reassuring experience.
Flash forward to last week:
Did someone slip me an Ibuprofen? This headache unexpectedly cleared itself right up! I was going through my courses online to make sure I’ve smoothed out all the wrinkles and I notice something incredible: No longer did I have shoddy professor listed for my CS course. Instead, my professor will now be the one I had for Pre-Calculus. As in, the professor of the course in which I scored 120% on my final. Based on my past experience in his courses, I am much more confident about the approaching semester. At the least, there’s no conceivable way he would be anything less than an improvement.
I can do it…right?
I’ll be working 2-3 days a week on top of my five classes. In addition to this, my new beau will be taking 3 courses in addition to working full-time as a teacher. Both of us are quick to become anxious and overwhelmed. I would be crazy not to admit that I’m nervous to see how Fall semester affects our relationship. I do believe we have the dedication and willpower to pull through it, but our relationship is still newly budding and I don’t want to jeopardize something with so much potential. Also, I have a tendency to take on 200% of what I can handle. At this point, I’m genuinely considering taking out greater loans in future semesters (I’m taking my first $8k this school-year) so that I can focus on school and not have to worry so much about money in the moment.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
Miss P.
inspiredmath 