This Too Shall Pass

I have been subconsciously anxious for the past week. The reason for this anxiety would, of course, be my literature class. We took the dreaded poetry test last week, which included a poetry paper. I chose to expound on three poems by Walt Whitman.

Now, this paper was to be an in-class essay but Mr. K said that anything that we do before hand is to our benefit. So, obviously, I chose to write my entire essay before getting to class since I do a deer in the headlights kind of thing when I have to write under pressure.

Along with the test essay, I submitted three of the five small poetry papers. It was really rather dumb of me to not submit any poetry papers before the test so I could tell if I was even on the right track. But no, I submit them all at one time…sink or swim.

So all week, I’ve been wondering if I could manage to slip by Mr. K with the nonsense that I managed to regurgitate onto paper without getting a “I’m not sure what you were thinking” back from Mr. K. I prayed that God would blind him to my ignorance on poetry. And He did!! I got As on two of the papers and Bs on the other two.

The thing that was frustrating is that I have no clue as to why two of the papers got As and two got Bs. They were completely void any markings except on the test paper where I missed correcting one contraction and that paper got a B. One “doesn’t” makes so a paper gets a B? No explanation for the other B. So, I feel that I’m still clueless.

At least I don’t have to rewrite any of those papers. Maybe I can get another extra credit opportunity to help make up for the Bs. Now I only have to write a small essay on Robert Frost’s poetry and a seven-paragraph paper (rough draft of five paragraphs already written), which I’ve chosen to write on Robert Frost’s poetry as well, and then I’ll be done with poetry papers. PTL!!

After those two papers, I have to write a paper on the Faulkner novel and a paper on the drama that we are currently listening to. I feel like I’m on the home stretch.

One of the women in my class said that she found out a few weeks into the semester that she didn’t even have to have the class for her program of study but she was already too far into the semester to drop it without having to pay a $20 fee in order to not get an F, so she just kept on with the class because she didn’t have the $20. I would have paid $20 in a heartbeat to get out of that class if I didn’t have to have it for my major. I would have begged, borrowed, and (not quite) stolen if necessary. I just don’t understand some people.

Something neat happened after class this evening. I was walking out to my car and a young guy from my class was about thirty feet in front of me. As I exited the building, he turned and told me that he’d see me next week. I wished him a good week. He reached his car first and I had to pass him as I went to my car. Another girl from class was parked next to him and he stepped around her car and gave her a white piece of paper. He then turned toward me and pulled another white piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. I groaned inwardly thinking that he was trying to sell something to me. I looked at the paper and it said:

2 Corinthians 1:5 God bless you
For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

John 16:33
Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I did take heart, for this too shall pass.