Quarterly Report, Fall 2009

Back in October, when the Fall quarter first began, I had the mindset that this was going to be my quarter. I had such high hopes, not just academically, but socially, romantically and artistically. I was going to make things happen, and end the quarter on top. Unfortunately, the quarter had plans of its own.

The first goal on my not-so-hefty-list-of-things-I-wanted-to-accomplish-this-quarter was to finally get the courage to talk to Elle - the (then) girl of my dreams - and get her to fall in love with me. It was a simple plan, really. I was going to say "Hello", I pay her a few compliments, we'd talk about things we had in common, I tell her a few more compliments, I'd charm her with a few silly jokes, and she'd be mine. Well, unfortunately her boyfriend kind of ruined that plan. Not the end of the world, except that Elle is the fourth girl at this school I've tried pursuing, and the fourth failure. Wow, what a horrible success rate.

Let's move on to the quarter itself. As with every quarter, my starting goal is to maintain my 4.0 GPA. Really, there is no practical reason for this. When I graduate, potential employers are going to look at my portfolio, not my GPA. A 4.0 doesn't come with any perks or get me into any secrets clubs; there is no cool 4.0 handshake. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA is really just for me; an indicator to me that I care about my education and am not going to slack on it just so I can go party or whatever.

Well, this quarter decided to throw me a few hurdles in my "Quest for the Holy GPA". After my first week, I received word that one of my classes had been canceled due to the low number of students, and I needed to replace the class. I decided to take Creative Writing, since I love writing, but unfortunately joining the class a week late meant I was week behind, and it took me a few weeks to fully catch up. On top of the headache of having to switch classes, before midterms arrived, I got sick not once, but TWICE! About three weeks in I caught a nasty cold, which made me miss one or two of my classes. Then two weeks later I came down with the flu! I can't remember the last time I had the flu, but here I was with it only two weeks after already being sick. What luck. I missed an entire week of classes because of the flu, and I fell far behind because of it. Still, with my goal of a 4.0 GPA foremost in my mind, I couldn't give up and I worked hard to catch up.

Now, all work and no play makes for a very dull Jason, so whenever possible, I made sure I went out and had fun. One of my more recent methods of having fun is taking part in art shows. It's a great kick in the butt to paint, and a great way to network with fellow artists and art appreciators. Normally I show up with anywhere between 4-6 paintings, hang out with friends, eat some sushi, and no very rare occasions have a drink. However, during my last art show I was lucky enough to sell one of my paintings for $100. Not too shabby for a self-proclaimed "wannabe painter". Although, I have to admit that having a sold painting out there does me me feel like a real painter after all.

So, now that the quarter is over, how do I feel it went? Well, grades came in a few days ago, and with a GPA of 3.7, this is by far my worst quarter. Still, I passed all my classes with nothing lower than a B, so I would say that is still a success. And maybe Elle won't be the love of my life, but I have potential prospects, so I'm not too torn up about it.

Maybe I didn't end the quarter on top, like I originally set out to do, but by no means do I consider the quarter a failure. A lot of good happened this quarter; I met a lot of good people and made a lot of good friends, and I'm walking away with even more good memories. At the end of the day, isn't that what it's all about?