My College Schedules

I am 50 years old. I graduated from college 28 years ago, yet multiple times a month I have a recurring college-related nightmare. In it, I don't know what classes I'm taking that term, what time they are, or where they're located. I spend the whole dream searching for my schedule, or going to the admin building to see if someone can tell me where I should be, or randomly popping into classrooms hoping I'll find something familiar, or realizing I've missed an entire month of Tuesday evening classes because I'd forgotten I had signed up for an evening class. It's maddening.

Oddly, I didn't have these nightmares during college, when I theoretically could have lost or forgotten my schedule and it would actually matter. Instead, my sleeping brain worried about not being able to find my bike. Or that I had a 100 page paper due that day that I'd forgotten about. Or that I couldn't remember my high school locker combination. Sigh. 

During college, it was unlikely I would forget my schedule because I made myself a pretty schedule each quarter, using colored pencils and pens on graph paper. I pinned my schedule in my room, and carried a copy in my backpack. 

Here's my very first one:

As you can see, I took a very light load my first quarter of college (13 units). I took Spanish, Economics, and Public Speaking. Giving myself such an easy first quarter was one of the best decisions I ever made (particularly given that I was regularly traveling as a State Ambassador for 4-H, which took a huge amount of my time) and something I always recommend to high school seniors. College life is a major adjustment, even without the academics. Give yourself time to adjust, then ramp up the units the following quarter if you're comfortable. 

I took Western Civ, Economics, Geography, American Studies, and First Aid during the second quarter of my freshman year. By then, I had figured out all of the "how do I...?" stuff associated with living away from my parents for the first time, had made lots of friends and adjusted well to dorm life, and was ready to challenge myself more academically. 

In the spring of freshman year, I took my third Economics class and my second Western Civ class, along with Psychology and Bio Sci. 

I started my sophomore year with more Economics and more Western Civ, along with Political Science and Religious Studies (Judaism). 

In the winter, I took more Economics, along with Statistics, Calculus, and Forestry (one of my all-time favorite classes). I also took my first PE class, Ballroom Dance. 

I wouldn't meet Steve for another 8 years, but we would eventually meet through ballroom dance. So in a way, this is where it all started. 

In the spring of my sophomore year, I took Economics, Sociology, History, Landscape Architecture, and another dance class. 

I started my junior year with Plant Science, Geology, Human Development, Political Science, and History. I also worked on campus as a Program Advisor. I had staff meetings on Tuesday nights and a one-on-one with my supervisor on Wednesday mornings. 

During winter quarter, I took Agricultural Economics, Geology, and History. The meetings for my job are in green. 

And that's it. Apparently, I stopped making pretty schedules for myself at this point. I find that hard to believe, but I find it equally hard to believe that I would have saved the first eight and thrown away the remaining four or stored them in a different place. But I'm missing Spring 93, Fall 93, Winter 94, and Spring 94, when I graduated with a BA in International Relations. (You thought it was going to be Economics, right? Or Education, since you know I taught elementary school? Nope!) 

For the sake of completeness (and because I know my mom will ask), the rest of my degree included the following: 

Spring 1993: Education, History, Poli Sci, and Healthful Living

Fall 1993: Education, Environmental Studies, History, Nutrition

Winter 1994: Education (x4), Music

Spring 1994: Education (x2), English, History

Thanks for indulging another stroll down Memory Lane. It was a treat to me to find those schedules and all the memories those simple papers contain.