High Anxiety

OK, I am all over the board today but I get scattered when I get stressed.

 

I have been so anxious lately. Too much to do, too little time and energy. Every time I turn around I am having some kind of test for school. I have 2 tests on Wednesday, a test next Monday and I have to make-up a test from last Wednesday (I was exhausted and the professor was kind enough to let me make-up the test another day). I also have to present my rough draft of the big paper (5-7 pages) for Literary Analysis to the class on Monday - I have not started yet, and don't even have a solid idea of what I want to write about!  In addition to all these tests, I have to see a play and write a small paper on that, I have a play analysis project to work on (doing it on Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire), a psych paper to research and develop an experiment for (luckily the experiment part can be done in a group), all this plus a few more tests and smaller papers to write. All of this within the next 4 weeks. Yikes - the pressure is mounting.

 

This week is going to be especially hard. I have all this schoolwork and 4 birthdays to celebrate this week. My nephew has a birthday on the 13th, my stepson on the 15th, my Dad and my niece on the 16th. I don't know how the heck I am going to fit it all in. Don't get me wrong, I want to celebrate everyones birthdays and be with my family but I wish all this was another week. Something has got to give.

 

I was ready to throw in the towel this morning but .... for one thing, okay a few things; I found out I got a decent grade on my last Algebra test. I was relieved about that. Then, after Literary Analysis class I was talking to some classmates about the big paper. I told them I didn't really have a solid idea about what my paper was going to be about and I was worried. This lady who sits next to me said "Yeah right, you always do well. You always get your papers back with 'perfect' on them." I was surprised that she noticed - it is not like I was bragging on them (like I do on here, haha) or anything. Plus I work damn hard for those grades! Her comment made me stop and appreciate what I have accomplished so far this term and gave me hope that I could/would come up with something for the 'big paper'. I ran into a classmate from psych class on my lunch break and we talked about all the pressure we have been feeling - that made me feel even better. You know, to commiserate with another going throught the same things. She has like 20 credit hours (she is actually attending 2 universities!). Finally, in my last class, Drama as Performance (theatre class) I received a paper back that I wrote last week (I wasn't too sure about it) about the whole boy meets girl comedy formula  - I received an A on it. 20 out of 20 points - the prof wrote 'Excellent' on it. I wrote the paper very quickly (pressed for time and ideas) on the movie Pride and Prejudice, just hoping to get some kind of points on it. I am so happy it turned out really well. This was the final shot in the arm that I needed. Well for a little while anyway. Now I have to get down to some work.

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Here is my little vent I was thinking about today though, even after all was said and done.  I work my ass off to get my grades - nothing is easy. It seems that people think that because someone gets good grades (or maybe they just don't think about it at all - don't realize the effort it takes) that it is easy for them, that the work and the grades come easy. Um, no. It takes work, time, energy, and sacrifice. I can't do all that I want to, I can't be with my family and friends as much as I would like because I have to put school first much of the time. My house is not in the shape I would like it to be in, nor my own appearance for that matter. I just ask for some understanding of the time and work it takes into going to college and trying to get some decent grades. Yeah, it is not hard labor/backbreaking work but it is exhausting and stressful. Please just understand that I may have to take time away from family and friends now but I am doing so I can make a better future for myself, family and friends.  OK, Mom? LOL. She made me feel a little guilt last week and it is sticking to me. Moms!

 

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Here is my Drama paper. I love it. It is a fluffy little piece but I am proud of it. I am posting it because I love P&P and I may want to expand on this topic later, also I just like to post work that I received good grades on so I can remember and maybe get inspiration from. I CAN DO IT!

 

 

"Comedies: Boy Meets Girl Formula in Pride and Prejudice"

     I have not seen any recent romantic comedies other than the old story Pride and Prejudice (recently remade into a major motion picture). This story is a ‘dramedy’ (Comedy-drama) and can be seen as a comedy of manners overlying the main romantic storyline of boy meets girl. There are actually two examples of the boy meets girl story in the movie – Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and her sister, Jane and Mr. Bingley. In both of the storylines (which intertwine), it is the opposition of the family and friends (and pride) as well as class and money that provides the impediment of the boy getting the girl or vice versa.

     The story is set in the early 1800’s in England and concerns the Bennet family. The Bennet family is comprised of the parents and 5 daughters. They are a poor family but the father is a gentleman who owns an estate, which unfortunately is entailed away from the daughters. This is customary for the time. The girls do not have very good prospects for marriage, being poor and having small dowries, as well as lower class family connections on their mother’s side of the family.

     The story opens with the arrival of a new gentleman in town, Mr. Bingley, He brings with him his family (2 sisters, a brother-in-law, and a good friend) and good friend, Mr. Darcy. The families meet up and Mr. Bingley is immediately smitten with the eldest Bennet daughter Jane. She soon falls in love with Mr. Bingley. His family is not impressed with her family, nor is Mr. Bingley’s good friend, Mr. Darcy. This (the families opposition, as well as the friends) is the main obstacle to Mr. Bingley and Jane getting together. Mr. Bingley’s sisters, along with Mr. Darcy conspire to keep this couple apart because they think the Bennet family is lacking in manners and class, (as well as money) which the behavior some of the family does support (this is where the comedy comes in – the mother is loud and scheming and the 3 younger sisters are somewhat whiney with the 2 youngest being boy crazy). Mr. Bingley is drawn away from the Bennet family, to London, where his family and friend convince him that Jane did not really have any interest in him. Jane and Mr. Bingley are successfully kept apart and Jane is heartbroken about it, all the while she is in the dark as to exactly why Mr. Bingley lost interest in her.

     Mr. Darcy, against his better judgment, falls for Elizabeth Bennet – even as he schemes to keep his friend and her sister apart. He is a prideful, upper class man who owns a great estate and has titled (his aunt is a Lady) family connections. He discovers he loves Elizabeth despite her low connections, her family’s behavior, and lack of money. Mr. Darcy’s pride is an obstacle to getting the girl. He does, eventually, over rule this obstacle and propose to Elizabeth but she won’t have him! She does not like the way he acted (full of pride) and the fact that he does not hide his reservations about asking her to marry him in his proposal. In fact, she finds out that he schemed (and is quite proud of himself) to keep her sister and Mr. Bingley apart and is livid. Elizabeth tells Mr. Darcy exactly how she feels about him and he is shocked. He thought she would be grateful to accept his proposal and is embarrassed to find out otherwise. This revelation and her subsequent anger toward Mr. Darcy become an obstacle to their ever being together.

     Mr. Darcy contemplates his behavior and eventually realizes he cannot live without Elizabeth. He goes about setting things right – telling Mr. Bingley about the plan to keep him and Jane apart. Elizabeth also contemplates her behavior as well as that of her family and realizes that Mr. Darcy may have had some valid points. She has a change of heart. Maybe it is all brought home to her when she see his magnificent estate and realizes “I might have been mistress of all this.” The two couples involved are thrown together again (through other mishaps and circumstances) and despite the opposition and surprise of their families, the gentlemen eventually propose to the ladies and are accepted. The story ends with a double wedding and they all live happily ever after – far away from their relatives.