willblog

I can almost taste the free air. Sitting down here, writing these last few blogs makes me realize my first year here is almost at an end. Perhaps one more week worth of going to Lincoln, but I'm not sure yet, I still need to talk to Emily and see what she's up to. But although I'm really looking forward to being done with summer, and I know I shouldn't be thinking these thoughts, but I'm already dreading coming back for next year. Plus, next year I'm actually going to have to get a job and stop freeloading off my parents.

Since Emily and I have only been down to Lincoln a few times in the past month, I've run out of things to write about for the volunteering. Instead, I'll write a few reflective thoughts about the year in this, and my last post. It's hard to point to exact facts and figures that I've learned this year, although they must exist. I think achieving a higher level of thinking or analysis is more desirable than merely memorizing a few facts for a test. Last semester I took a pre-law class entitled Literature of Public Life. In it I learned plenty of lawyer lingo, which I hope to use someday, but more importantly I feel I understand diverse perspectives more fully.

One of the other classes I really don't mind going to is German. It's been quite interesting for me to sort of watch my language ability progress over time. Not only this year, but the four years I took it in high school, progress is slow but sure. I think once you pass a certain point in learning any language it begins to come more quickly. I've noticed my ability to understand spoken German has gotten much better. While I don't sit and spend countless nights memorizing vocabulary like I should, I know a few more phrases than I did even a few months ago. Well, laundry is done. Back for the last post in a flash.