Sweet Jesus, I hate writing papers. [View All]

[Ladyhawk]

During my life, I've had my fill of writing papers. I have a BA in Liberal Studies, which required tons of essays and a multiple subjects teaching credential (which required still more essays). I hate 'em. Especially the kind where you just regurgitate back information about a subject. It doesn't engage the brain much. Of course, "A" quality essays in college require that you go a step further and develop your own ideas. The paper I'm working on currently? Nope. I just have to hammer out a biography of Robert Schumann's life without plagiarizing. Boring. As. Hell.

Many of the major events of my life revolve around writing papers. When the big quake hit the Bay Area during the World Series, I was sitting in the library, typing a term paper on an old Apple IIe. Even in Fresno, I felt the ground slide back and forth beneath me. I thought I might be having a dizzy spell.

Another student named John was in the same little alcove. He looked up and said, "Did you feel that?"

"Yeah, I did...earthquake?" I asked.

"Musta been," said John.

I continued typing away at that damn term paper, squinting to see green words spread across the black screen. All my papers were printed on old dot matrix printer in the computer lab. I used to give those long, perforated strips from the edges to my parrot and he'd happily play "birdie decorator."

That parrot is older than the Internets. Both of 'em.

I didn't learn until much later that overpasses had collapsed. I was isolated in my tiny little world of term papers.

Here it is many years later and I'm still sick of the damn things and hate being immersed in them.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Pity me, okay?