The Monkey on My Back Was Really a Capuchin
I am a procrastinator.
All week, I knew the two biggest assignments loomed in front of me for Art History. One was a 900 word essay about my visit to the Dali Museum, covering eight points the professor wanted us to note, compare and contrast. It counted for one fourth of the grade, more than even the final exam.
The other assignment was to view two works in progress videos, then write an essay addressing the methods each artist used. One is a performance artist, the other a muralist. The essay needed to be a minimum of 500 words and had to answer several questions posed by my professor.
I was intimidated by these assignments. Do I have the chops to write college essays? It's been 15 years since I last had to submit assignments for grades. Doubt about my abilities dogged me. There was a big monkey dogging me, perhaps even a gorilla perched on my back.
This afternoon, I viewed the videos and organized my thoughts around the questions the teacher posed. As I prepared to write, something came to mind. "Hey, ding dong, you probably write 500 words every day!". Then I checked a recent post that was my average length of post. Over 600 words. Hmmm, maybe getting out the minimum 500 words won't be that hard after all.
No, it wasn't hard. In fact, I wrote 1024 words on the topic.
Twenty percent down, another 25 percent to go. This was the Dali museum report. I was so concerned about it that I nearly went back over to the museum this morning to look at the works again. I didn't, but I did take the assignments instructions and my notes and created a template to ensure I answered all the questions within the 900 words. Heck, I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough to say.
It turns out that I shouldn't have worried. They all were answered and the best part is that the word count was nearly 1,100. I carried around a huge monkey for the past week, when in reality it was one of those cute little Capuchin monkeys, like the one in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tiny, cute and annoying.
The funny part? The rest of the assignments do not require one bit of writing. There's a couple of multiple choice exams, a couple of true/false exams and the final.
This is one of those times that blogging has had a positive impact on my life. I write daily. Once I made that connection, the monkey shrunk, then jumped off my back. Remind me of that when I have to write the next report!
All week, I knew the two biggest assignments loomed in front of me for Art History. One was a 900 word essay about my visit to the Dali Museum, covering eight points the professor wanted us to note, compare and contrast. It counted for one fourth of the grade, more than even the final exam.
The other assignment was to view two works in progress videos, then write an essay addressing the methods each artist used. One is a performance artist, the other a muralist. The essay needed to be a minimum of 500 words and had to answer several questions posed by my professor.
I was intimidated by these assignments. Do I have the chops to write college essays? It's been 15 years since I last had to submit assignments for grades. Doubt about my abilities dogged me. There was a big monkey dogging me, perhaps even a gorilla perched on my back.
This afternoon, I viewed the videos and organized my thoughts around the questions the teacher posed. As I prepared to write, something came to mind. "Hey, ding dong, you probably write 500 words every day!". Then I checked a recent post that was my average length of post. Over 600 words. Hmmm, maybe getting out the minimum 500 words won't be that hard after all.
No, it wasn't hard. In fact, I wrote 1024 words on the topic.
Twenty percent down, another 25 percent to go. This was the Dali museum report. I was so concerned about it that I nearly went back over to the museum this morning to look at the works again. I didn't, but I did take the assignments instructions and my notes and created a template to ensure I answered all the questions within the 900 words. Heck, I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough to say.
It turns out that I shouldn't have worried. They all were answered and the best part is that the word count was nearly 1,100. I carried around a huge monkey for the past week, when in reality it was one of those cute little Capuchin monkeys, like the one in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tiny, cute and annoying.
The funny part? The rest of the assignments do not require one bit of writing. There's a couple of multiple choice exams, a couple of true/false exams and the final.
This is one of those times that blogging has had a positive impact on my life. I write daily. Once I made that connection, the monkey shrunk, then jumped off my back. Remind me of that when I have to write the next report!
Comments
I have a couple tricks to get myself started on those kinds of things a lot earlier and that helps a lot.
I'm glad all worked out in the end. Those capuchins can be kinda cute, after all. :)
- Doreen in PA
Stopping by from the momdot link a thon to say hi.
Lucy