Today is the first day
of the rest of my life of my classes. Penology (hold the giggles - it's on how and why society punishes crime). This also means that in the monomythical view of my Leicester Adventures, I have passed definitely from the realm of normal people back into the realm of Academia, moved from Stage I, the Departure, into Stage II, the Initiation. The Road of Trials will be long; it consists of classes, papers, dissertations and everything more. I shall encounter Temptations that will attempt to lead me from the path and I shall meet my God (tsk, how male-centered to make both the all-encompassing love and the Temptation female personifications). One I've completed all that, I'll experience Apotheosis (probably when I'm working on my dissertation and reach that stage where you don't eat, sleep or drink and you and your dissertation become one, when there is nothing more in the world than that - and this is in general not at all positive) and finally, once I complete this Adventure, my Ultimate Boon, that coveted Master's Degree.
Come to think of it, Roosevelt Academy was also an Adventure. Hmm. Maybe Academia is like Middle-Earth. Then RA was the Shire, and Leicester... Rivendell?
Oh God, that would make a hypothetical PhD Mordor... considering the anecdotes I've heard about PhDs, that assessment isn't too far off...
UPDATE: Just found this wonderful bit on how doing a PhD is like tossing the Ring back into the fiery pits of Mount Doom:
http://danny.oz.au/danny/humour/phd_lotr.html
Tomorrow is my reading day, so I'll be off early to head to the Library, and Wednesday is a long day of Criminological Research Methods (oh, Hell... SPSS!) and Understanding Crime, both of which I do very much look forward to.
Oh, right: Penology was fun. 13 people in that class, had discussions, are to critique paper for next class. It's like RA 2.0, but the workload is lighter.
Now you're free to giggle about 'penology'.
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