A bit of Millay, please

Well, I'm back from a long weekend! Thursday night the internet went out here and it was sporadic for a couple of days. Friday afternoon I had a freshmen exam--not a graded one, thankfully, but something the college does for its own purposes. It wasn't difficult (like an easier version of the SAT) but it reminded me anew how much I hate really, really dislike standardized tests.

Right after the exam I left with the rest of the choir to go on an overnight retreat. We stayed at a lodge in the Appalachian mountains, playing games and worshiping God and getting to know each other better. Saturday morning, before we left, I got to go on a gorgeous hike to see a waterfall in the woods.

Today was what I'm coming to call my Long Day. From nine to five: Speech, Old Testament, Humanities, Lunch, Photography, Theater Work, Choir. I actually have so much (especially when you add to that two or more hours of music practice) that I'm considering dropping something. I visited my mentor today and talked it over with him. He said that I should at least wait until after the exams next week (yes, next week; they sure come fast!). Then I'll know better how I'm doing with studying, and if I still want to withdraw from a class I can do it then and it still won't affect my GPA.

This evening after choir I had my first experience accompanying a singer on the piano. Two singers, actually; I'm accompanying their duet. It was...interesting. I'd only practiced the piece twice, so I wasn't able to play it and ended up playing the chords. The practice went alright, but I wasn't happy. I need to learn the music.

Tonight I went to the library because I decided that I needed some Edna St. Vincent Millay to read. It's not good for a person to go too long without poetry. I did end up finding a book, after long looking (they use the Library of Congress cataloguing system rather than the Dewey Decimal). I also did some studying and met somebody new. He was working the night shift at the library desk, studying a bilingual Beowulf between helping students like me find the books they wanted. When I brought my Millay to the counter and I commented on his Beowulf he asked if I was an English major. So we talked a little. He's an English major, a junior this year; and his name is also Tim. (Which makes three Tims and a Tom now at this college...)

I'm finding that you learn more here than they teach you in classes. Like the impossibility of doing all you want to do in twenty-four hour days; or the way tears can sneak up on you at unexpected moments. Or how you need God always, whether you remember it or not. As one of my professors said: "The purpose of college is not to prepare you for a career. It is to teach you how to live."