Far beyond where the horizon lies

"You're so organized."

It is shocking for me to hear these words directed at me. My friends will tell you, I am extremely messy and always put things off to the last minute. If you catch me on a good day I'll tell you that I believe in organized chaos, and that I work well under pressure. Both true statements, by the way. But, there's no denying that I am a lazy slob under most circumstances. It's a sad story.

"You're so organized."

On multiple, separate occasions, my floor-mates have walked into my room to me typing away furiously, and they've said this simple, respectful, baffling three-word phrase. To me. As they walk over piles of dirty laundry and old papers.

My floor-mates, stunningly enough, are under the assumption that I'm organized. Why?

Because I've taken to planning the next four years of my college career in multiple Excel spreadsheets.
If you think you've known stress, this is a whole 'nother country of stress.
Currently, my major is Science Education. Ever since I was accepted into BU, I knew that I was going to do a BUCOP (BU Co-Op Program), that means that I get a degree from two different colleges at BU. In my case, a BS in Biology Education from SED and some type of Biology degree from CAS. Now, herein lies the problem(s):
Deciding what biology major
Whether or not to add a minor
How to deal with overloading or summer classes
Where color guard fits into all of this

*cue Tevye (Fiddler on the Roof)* Sounds crazy, no?
Yes. It's crazy. It doesn't help that I need to run back and forth between CAS and SED getting signature upon signature. Not to mention the fact that the semester is ending in a week, and I still have to meet with the Biology department and my SED advisor to finalize my course list, all before Tuesday when I meet with the BUCOP coordinator for CAS and have her sign my completed BUCOP plan. It's a fxcking mess.
Originally, I planned on pursuing Biology with a specialization in Neuroscience. I love the brain, and if I could just take neruobiology courses forever I would. Unfortunately, the exceedingly large amount of coursework and the lack of compatibility with my Bio Ed major makes Bio w/ Neuro a very stressful and possibly expensive choice. The plain and simple Biology major is flexible enough for me to match up all the science requirements to the Bio Ed major. Also it's less coursework. I can still take courses in neurobiology (granted it's like, 2 courses, after my SED reqs and other specific classes swallow up the other 5 slots) and I may be able to take Gross Human Anatomy for credit! Gross is probably the hardest class at BU, and I've heard nothing but good things about it. So excited to work with cadavers!!!
So I'm leaning heavily to doing the tried-and-true Biology major. It's less coursework and more flexible than the Bio w/ Neuro.

Now, there are two minors which interest me at this point in time. One is Human Anatomy. However, after much deliberation, it seems like the whopping 5 courses in SAR are too much to tack on considering how late I would be starting the minor. The other, prettier, and much more fun option is a Dance minor. The dance minor is 20 credits, so it's equivalent to 5 classes, and I've already taken 2 credits toward it. The additional 18 come from classes in dance history, choreography, performance, 3 more technique classes, and 5 more elective credits, with a mind boggling array of options, including Martial Arts, Mind/Body (yoga), Kinesiology, Nutrition, the list goes on.

So, my personal favorite option is the Biology major with a Dance minor. The good news: it's achievable in 4 years. The bad news: I have to take 3 courses over the summer. The worse news: my parents are very adamant about paying for summer courses at BU, mostly because it would also involve housing, money for food, etc. The other option is to take the courses back home, but the problem with that plan is that BU is particularly anal retentive about the outside courses they will count for credit and the amount of credit they're willing to give. Even if I go home and take Intro to Philosophy, Sociology 101 and World Geography, which all have equivalent courses at BU, the credit system may not match up and BU could end up awarding me awkward amounts of credit, of which I'll have to somehow make up the deficit.
I'd like to be able to say that I've reached a decision about my college plan but I'm still facing obstacles both mental and physical. My parents remind me that I had planned on studying abroad at some point. Now it seems like my only option is Teaching Abroad, which I have no problem with. However, if I have to take an additional course in order to do my practicum in Sydney, then my plans are REALLY going to get screwed up.

Basically what this whole dissertation on college planning means is that I have ridiculous skill at planning for the long term. Not just with college, but with other things as well. I've planned trips on the road and in the air, for me, for friends and for my family. I have a mysterious ability to achieve extremely long term goals and lay out structured plans for their completion. This is oddly offset by my lack of short-term planning, i.e. procrastinating with schoolwork and forgetting to call my parents on a weekly-ish basis. Also, I'm stressed out of my fxcking mind.

It doesn't help that the last round of auditions for Carolina Crown are this weekend. In an email from the guard caption head, the staff will be "setting the guard on Sunday," which means that by Sunday, they will know who is going on tour with a spot, who is going as an alternate, and who is going home to watch from the stands. I am out of my MIND with anxiety. I want to do this more than almost anything...I don't even want to think about not making the cut.

And of course, finals are coming, blah blah blah. Every other college kid is complaining about final exams/projects/papers, I'm sure anything I say will be a reiteration of thousands of whiny adolescents bxtching about how their finals week is so much more hellish than anyone elses. Whatever. It's finals. It happens every semester. I'm kind of over it. I actually find the actual week of finals rather relaxing. You know exactly what you have to do, all you have to do is show up on time and do it. Kind of like being on tour, fnar fnar...

This might be the last blog post before I leave for camp...
So the next time I'm back online ranting I'll either be jumping for joy or sobbing my eyes out.
Let's pray its the former.

_~*and as he stares into the sky, there are twice as many stars as usual*~_

[z^3]