I hope I make it

As finals approach this week, all I can really focus on is the reality of the soon-to-come exams. So, I'll write a little bit about what I've learned this year and what I expect to find on the exams.

My "Introduction to Psychology" course has been quite interesting. We've explored the foundations of the science, methods of research, behavior, sensation and perception, consciousness, learning, development, language, personality, and psychological orders, to name just a few areas. I found this class particularly enjoyable because I got to apply it to everyday interactions; I'm sure I made some people uneasy by attempting to analyze situations psychologically. The final exam will consist of multiple choice (don't get too excited, these are pretty tricky) and paragraph answer segments. I feel pretty good about this one.

The second section of my first-year humanities course has been fairly pleasurable fortunately. We read Dante's Inferno, studied Renaissance and Baroque art, read some Shakespeare, listened to a Mozart opera, analyzed some Romantic poetry (Blake and Wordsworth), and at the end looked at some science fiction texts. I found that the homework for this class was never too taxing because it was material I enjoyed reading anyway, so I didn't mind too much. The final will be primarily essay and identification.

I expect my "History of Christian Thought" exam to bring me the most stress. Though it's probably been my favorite course, it's been quite difficult and has required a good deal of time. We've traced the development of the Christian church, from its origins in Judaism, to its initiation, through wars and reform, and to modern times. Through this, we've kept an eye on key issues, such as the relationship between the secular and sacred realm and the interaction of reason and faith. The final will be challenging: a compilation of identification, paragraph answers, and a long essay.

Finally, my "Late U.S. History" final will be fairly difficult in that I'm responsible for the development of our nation over the past 150 years. We picked up at Reconstruction after the Civil War, waded through Industrialism, the World Wars, the Great Depression, more wars, the turmoil of the 60's, and eventually progressed to our contemporary situation. The final is multiple choice (once again, pretty tough ones) and long-essays.

So, the next few days will be some of the most unpleasant of the year, but I have a long and academically stagnant summer to look forward to afterwards. I hope I make it through all right.