I'm not certain that went so well.
Things started off wrong with me being the last person to walk in, making me feel awkward and leaving me sitting immediately to the instructor's right. At least the guy on the left was sitting "around the bend" of the circled tables so he could at least look at the instructor without feeling creepy.
So I was late (not really, I was 4 min early), awkwardly positioned, and extremely aware that the jeans I had chosen to wear had a hole in them and not in a hey-aren't-these-holey-jeans-cool? sorta way. I got to introduce myself last. I got to pick workshop date last. Well, I could have volunteered to go in the first week but I didn't. I chickened out at the last minute in the face of frickin PhD candidates in writing.
Why didn't I take the 500 level class instead of the 600 level? The 500 has undergrads in it not PhD candidates. I could have done that and eased into it.
I think I bombed my introduction. But how can you bomb your introduction? Is it possible for that to be important? Obviously it's not important for my grade, or for how they view me as a writer ... or maybe it does contribute to how they view me as a writer because influences, et cetera, were part of the introduction. I fear I have bombed a social hurdle aspect of this degree. Which I am painfully aware of as there is a need for me to network if I am to teach when I'm done here and I have only three years in which to network (less if you consider that the people that I hope to network with will be out in the world where I cannot influence them in the next year or two).
My first workshop date isn't until the tail end of October. And then the next one is during finals week. I will be the very last student to have a piece workshopped. Part of my grade is turning in "substantial revisions to a draft" so obviously I'll be rewriting that first piece else I'll not be receiving a grade for the class.
I'm just pulling out my hair right now and probably going bald for no good reason.
Highly Recommended
