Summer Class ✓

My summer class is finally over and I can now say that I have completed all of my GenEds at Temple! This was definitely one of the toughest semesters for me yet, but not because of the workload. Even though I only took 1 class, I found it much more difficult than I anticipated to find the motivation to do my work on time. Thankfully, my professor was super flexible and allowed us until the very last day of class to submit everything, which I pretty much ended up doing.

In the first two weeks, I was on top of everything and submitted all of my assignments on time like I would have during a full semester. By the third week, I was lacking motivation and only did 1/3 of the week's assignment on time and finished the other 2/3 in a couple of weeks. The last 4 weeks of the semester is where I lost all motivation, and not surprisingly, when my depression was growing to be more severe. No matter how many times I tried to sit myself down to read the texts in our module or watch the lectures and slide videos, I couldn't concentrate or hold focus. It just made me feel even worse and I was seriously worried about not being able to complete the course.

In the last week, I pulled it together and stayed up until 6 am a couple of times as well as sat at my living/dining room table for 10 hours straight doing work on and off to complete my midterm and assignments for weeks 4 and 5.

What made this course still amazing despite my hardships is how wonderful my professor was as a person and as a teacher. Each week, he held an optional class discussion on Zoom and an extra credit screening. I never got around to participating in a class discussion, but the screenings were all remarkable films that worked seamlessly with the curriculum. There were some movies I had already seen, such as Singin' in the Rain (corresponded with Marxism), and others I hadn't, such as Parasite (Confucianism) and Phantom Thread (Feminism). I loved watching each of these movies through a specific lens and exchanging messages with my fellow classmates and our professor as we watched them together!

We concluded the semester last Thursday and my final grade turned out to be (drumroll pleaseeee) 108%. This might honestly be my biggest achievement throughout my entire college career! My professor sent out personal emails to each student with their final grade and a very thoughtful recap of the semester. His message to me was so sweet and he admired my perseverance despite the personal struggles I was experiencing throughout the past 6 weeks. Even though it was hectic and I wouldn't do it again, I am so relieved to have finished my GenEds and also take my very first (intentional) online class!

P.S. If you go to Temple, I highly recommend my professor for IH: Dr. Robert Rabiee!