My latest university experience...

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite 52 Replies latest jw friends

  • tiki
    tiki

    That is absolutely positively awesome BtheB!!! Testing is a funny thing - some very brilliant people test very poorly - nerves, brain blocks, whatever - and some so-so students test easily. Real-life is another thing - it is problem solving, and utilizing one's skills and talents. You are doing a fantastic job - and I understand the process totally. I went back to college a few years back and am now just 2 electives shy of my bachelor's and hope to go on to the master's. I was one of those brainy kids who wasn't allowed an education and floundered and fumed and resented it all for years...when I first started in on my degree program and met with success, I had to discipline my mind not to sabotage myself. The negativity and loss of self-esteem and self-confidence made it difficult to even accept that yes, I still am an "A" student - even if I am old now.

    You keep at it, and keep learning. I swear that my mother has dementia because she never read anything or stimulated her mind any further than what WT's and Awakes had to offer....and that is not much indeed. To learn and grow mentally is to be alive and stay alive!!

  • rebel8
    rebel8

    That's so cool, Billy!

    I'm sure you actually owe it all to your time in the Theocratic Ministry School, which we all know is much more educational than college, and teaches you the best speaking skills on the planet. lol

  • Defianttruth
    Defianttruth

    Billy, remember it is just's class. The hardest class I ever took was thermal dynamics. I think it was 300 level, but that was a long time ago. My brain just didn't like the subject. I did pass. Guess what, no one has ever asked me, "how'd ya do in thermal dynamics." the real world of engineering is about as far from 300 level classes as it can be. All this does is allow you to sit for and pass your PE. Everything else is mental masturbation.

  • villagegirl
    villagegirl

    Billy - He is taking you under his wing - he sees something in you -

    Critical thinking - is not memorization and regurgitating back

    what you read. This is what happened to you - you were taught

    to memorize what is in front of you and repeat it back,

    like in a Watchtower or 'book' study.

    All original thought was stomped on.

    A Japanese adult student in one of my classes, in Vancouver,

    said he brought his son to Canada to go to school,

    because in the Japanese culture there is a saying; :

    "The nail that sticks up, will be pounded down."

    Freedom of thought and criticism of doctrine or books

    is not allowed in the Kingdom Hall.

    You become fear based in your thinking to avoid punishment.

    Feeling 'Safe' intellectually is not possible as a JW.

    This professor of yours has the wisdom to realize

    you need that safe and creative environment to

    develop your critical thinking skills. I am so happy for you.

  • crmsicl
    crmsicl

    So happy for you!

  • Thor
    Thor

    Congratulations!! You should be proud of yourself!

    Mrs. Thor

  • Scott77
    Scott77

    marked

  • Coffee House Girl
    Coffee House Girl

    I enjoyed reading your experience, as a Junior (in my 30's too) I can relate to your feelings in regards to grades (people keep telling me that they don't really matter but I want to get into grad school so I still panic), worries about GPA's, and trying to nurture relationships with cohorts and professors!

    Best of luck on finals & beyond!

    (my best university experience so far this year is getting accepted to study abroad this summer, I am going to study art history at the University of Oslo in Norway....whoda thought three years ago trapped in JW hell that I would have a chance like this?- I'm sure you've thought the same thing & are so happy you had the balls to try and live your dreams by enrolling in school- good for you!)

    CHG

  • breakfast of champions
    breakfast of champions

    I am going to study art history at the University of Oslo in Norway

    That is pretty damn cool! Good luck.

  • Billy the Ex-Bethelite
    Billy the Ex-Bethelite

    Thanks for the comments and encouragement! Best wishes to all you other students! And hearty encouragement to any of you considering "higher education."

    JonH: My other mistake was taking too many classes. Earlier semesters, I could handle 18 credit hours and pull As in all of them. Last semester I did 15 credit hours, which was too many. Now I'm doing 12, and it's still a challenge. Hang in there and keep your love for learning.

    fakesmile: Some days the classes are my bitch. Other days, I'm their bitch. In any case, the classes and I keep meeting for these sessions.

    laverite: He stressed that this shouldn't be priority for me, but that I can work it around whatever my schedule is through summer, fall, whenever. I agree that I think it is a HUGE break for me. Although this will take time, I think it will be a welcome change to have academic stimulation that doesn't involve cramming for exams, mindlessly rereading dozens of pages of complex and forgetable equations, or doing tedious lab experiments that have already been done by thousands of students before me. This will be graduate level stuff that's never been fully researched and documented.

    Just to give a "gee whiz" picture of one of the several projects, is researching the seeming anti-gravitational antics of non-newtonian fluids. Here's two examples of the weirdness non-newtonian fluids:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UVjOoJaWGo

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amfjWWMg9c0

    koncep99: If it is Satan and demonic foul play that has made my life worth living, I'm loving it! I've been playing for the wrong team for WAY too long!

    AArabia: I've done math through Differential Equations (got a C) and Linear Algebra (got an A). One more math class and I'll qualify for a math minor, but I don't think I'll get it done. Statics, as far as statics for civil or mechanical engineers, isn't a required course for chemical engineering. But we do have fluid statics. This professor is teaching my second course in fluid mechanics.

    BOC: That's an interesting experience. Between your hard work and the blessings of Satan and his demon hoards, you'll do great! LOL

    Slavenomore: I just checked and saw that the professor now has links to his previous work on the department website, so I've got some reading to do. Old threads started here. I was in bethel for over a decade, and was in a position to get to know most all of the GB 2.0 members, none of which I would buy a used car from. I've been out of bethel about 7 years. Haven't been inside a KH in a year and a half now.

    moshe: I was sick with a cold during most of spring break, but here on the Internet I can pretend that I partied like a rock star!

    rebel8: Well, I suppose WT taught me how to speak publicly when I had nothing worth saying. Now that I have something worth talking about, I have a new world of opportunity.

    Defianttruth: I've completed 2 thermodynamics courses so far, with 2 more to go. Besides the fact that most of it I'll never see again, nobody is ever going to pay me money to solve some theoretical system like what's presented in exams.

    CHG: Going to study in Norway for your summer?!? So cool.

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