I do miss the discussion though. And the challenge. And the ability to look at a book and see it a different way than someone else, then prove my point using words or letters on a page. Obviously learning doesn't end the moment you leave the classroom, especially for someone who enjoys learning everything she can about the world.
I finished school with gaps in my literature experience. I'm fairly well read in British literature through the Victorian Era and American literature up to WWI. But after that, everything's fairly unknown. The obvious solution is to continue reading "the classics" on my own until I'm comfortable with my knowledge of American and British literature. (I'm not even going to get started on World Literature, although those were some of my favorites in college. It's a little more of an overwhelming topic to cover.)
But I've found one big problem in my quest to fill in the gaps of my education: there's no syllabus after graduation. Meaning even though I intend to read that classic book, there's nothing stopping me from picking up the fluff love story right next to it and putting it off for another day. It's not like I have an exam or paper to prepare for; there's nothing stopping me from putting it off. And put it off I have. I was unemployed for 4 months, unless you call 'housewife' a job (which I don't), and could have easily read through a good chunk of literature. I did read a good amount, but it was all romantic fluff and murder suspense.
So my knowledge of literature has not grown much since I graduated. I'd really like to change that situation at some point.
There's also another subject I've neglected to study as I had intended to when I moved to Japan. I'll let you guess. Now, if you were moving to another country, where you've never been and are relatively unfamiliar with, what's the first thing you'd want to do? Study the language? Yeah, probably.
My wonderful parents gifted me with Rosetta Stone for Japanese Level 1, knowing I'd want to learn some of the language of the country I'd be living in. I eagerly dove into the first couple lessons, excited about my new adventure. Then I put it aside to finish my degree and get myself moved over here. Then...it sat. And sat. I pulled it out once with all the intentions of using it daily while I was being a boring housewife, but that lasted all of a day or two. Why?!? I have this great tool to learn some of the language all around me and I let it sit.
What's the problem? Oh yeah, no syllabus, no structure, no exam staring me down.
I haven't figured out a solution to my problem, I'm just sharing.
I'm toying with the idea of being a total nerd and making out a self-imposed "syllabus" complete with some kind of reward at the end of the list. But I'd need to find a suitable reward to motivate me, and find a reason not to give in to all my excuses "I'm too tired from work, it's not like I'm getting GRADED here."
I'm thinking it over. I'm thinking being a nerd and giving myself some structure would be the solution to my problem, if I can find the determination to stick with it. (Maybe I should add working out into that syllabus, since my motivation has been failing me in that department as well!) I'm also thinking some reflective or persuasive writing could help, since the discussion and paper writing is what I miss most about studying literature. I suppose I could share that here, which would hold me accountable somewhat, but it'd be pretty boring unless you've read the material. Hm.
I'll let you know when I've decided what to do. Maybe posting my self-imposed structure all over the world wide web will make me feel like I need to do it. Maybe.
I know before I begin my quest to fill in the gaps of my literature, I need to figure out what authors and works should be included in each era. I have some anthologies on hand and some professors available by email that would make quick work of that though. One decision I'm still debating is whether I want to study one time period at a time, in a similar fashion to a course. Like when I took Victorian Literature and studied the authors, works, history, culture, and emerging science of the period all in one big chunk. Or if it'd be more entertaining to jump around a bit, say read one contemporary American novel, then jump back in time to a British novel from the 1900's, then to another time period, etc. This dilemma probably doesn't interest anyone but me, but it is something I'm still trying to work out before I decide to invent some type of syllabus for myself.
Clearly I have some thinking and planning to do. Luckily organizing is a favorite past time of mine...
No comments:
Post a Comment