And so it begins again. Classes have started, and I've already been to every single one that I will be having (minus labs, of course. Those start next week). So far, I see nothing wrong with the semester ahead. My physics professor is....eccentric, I believe, is the nicest way to put it. But he loves what he teaches and certainly makes the class worth going to. Chinese is the same as always, though this time we're going to be speaking a whole lot more in the class than last semester. Be prepared to be amazed when I can speak a whole new language, give or take a few more classes of it.

Differential equations sounds deceptively hard, but if you have a good understanding above and below your belt, I think it won't be too bad. It also helps that I know a whole mob of people in the hundred plus large lecture. The most amusing thing is that a lot of them picked that particular professor for all the wrong reasons. There is a website called ratemyprofessors. It's an ingenious idea really; students log in, find the professors they took, and score them in various categories such as easiness and communication, as well as comments they feel should be known. Students can look up professors and see who is a good fit for them. I use it all the time.

But there is one more category that can be ranked: the chili pepper. Teachers bestowed with such an honor have been identified as "hot" by their pupils, and very few can claim to have one on their profile. My differential equations professor had one, and it was on fire; it couldn't get any hotter unless it was a burned out crumble on the website. Everyone's schedule revolved around that flaming chili pepper. When we arrived in class, everyone's disappointment was visible. That's not to say she was ugly, I think it was just more their imaginations grew a little wild over the break. But she's good at what she does, and the best part is she said we don't need her textbook. That's $150 I don't have that I don't have to spend. Amazing.

Human event. It was the bane of my existence last semester. I dread Mondays and Wednesdays because of it. I am proud to say that I never missed a single class of it, but that's not to say that I enjoyed it. This semester is different. My human event professor exudes this excitement, this energy that just smothers the room and seeps into you. You can't help but get excited too. He seems not only interested in what he's teaching, but he seems genuinely interested in every single one of his students as people, as equals. He's not there to lecture to us, he's engaging us and our thoughts in the discussion. In my first class with him, he actually knew every single person's name from the roster, and named us all within five minutes, even the new ones he's never seen before. He joked with us when we went around introducing ourselves, commenting on the interesting fact we were supposed to offer to the class. He got me really excited about old dead Greek guys and the math they were doing two thousand years ago. This is going to be a great class, and I'm going to enjoy talking about it on here.

Calculus is certainly an interesting one. I'm in the third level, the last one I have to take. My professor is Russian/Slavic, I couldn't tell exactly. His accent is one of the heaviest I have ever heard. It's not too much of a problem, I can understand accents pretty easily. It's the fact that he was going so slow during the first lecture. I'm hoping it only seemed that way because I learned most of the math that he was teaching during my physics classes, and that once we get into the new stuff my interest will be a little better. Supposedly Calculus III throws in an extra dimension, which is what makes it so hard for people. Bring it on.

Other than that, I don't see a whole lot more to report. It's only been two days, but I figured a nice recap of the classes before I become too involved was necessary. I regret to admit that I will be dropping out of the Satellite club for the time being; I just feel terrible being in it because I can't contribute in any way. I'm going to finish up my math, try and understand the mechanics they use, and go back in hopefully a year or less. I just feel as though I slow them down when they have to stop and try to explain or teach me every part of the project.

In other news, I know some people wanted to know, but I'm not sure who I've told, I finished last semester with a 3.5 GPA. Disappointing, I know, but here's to hoping that this next semester will be better. I know I make this promise every post, but I promise I will write more often (just not every day. That was a ridiculous goal.)