November 9th

What do you have when you combine some converse sneakers, flare jeans, and a university of Iowa hoodie? A really American looking Mary. This was a day of not caring, and I mean not caring at all. It was Friday and I wanted to be a sloth. Big baggy sweatshirts are perfect sloth attire, especially with the hood up. I basically drifted through the morning, I barely remember American Cultures. At the library I was supposed to write some pages of a chapter and edit blogs; I did neither. Actually I became so relaxed that I fell asleep on my keyboard. It was a bit embarrassing, not because I was sleeping in public but rather because of how I wake up. When I fall asleep in a lighted area usually a noise wakes me up at I have a comical reaction. Sometimes it is as minor as the pitch change on a song that is playing or the sound of a door being locked. I don't know what it was this time, probably a backpack zipper or something, but I woke up like a meekat. I jolted upright, looked around quickly, and slipped back behind my laptop screen. Heh, Mary the meerkat. I would have probably drifted through Middle Ages Literature, except a rather exciting event occurred. Today's class was special because it was when our essays on Lancelot becoming a hero were given back to us. I had my fingers crossed that I would receive a passing grade, that's all. In fact I did pass, which is pretty awesome. My teacher graded my paper on the same level as the French students. My only issue which she said was "pas grave" was my grammar. No crap. I'm not fluent. Worked for me though, passing equals a credit. But, my very relaxed and accepting viewpoint is not adopted by everyone. Primarily a girl in my class. Apparently she received an eleven or a twelve on the paper. That sounds low, but it's on the French grading system. An eleven and a twelve are passing grades, just passing not super special but still not fails. Everything is graded out of twenty in France and has nothing to do with percentages. What I mean by that is there is no 90% = A, 80% = B, and so on. It is 18-20 impossible, 16-17 outstanding, 14-15 awesome, 12-13 good, 10-11 pass, 9 and below fail. Why they have it out of twenty rather than seventeen is beyond me, but that's the system. This girl did not have a good grade, in her eyes. What did she do? Well first she tried to convince herself not to cry. Second she started to cry. Third the hyperventilating commenced. Fourth she banged her desk and screamed at the professor for picking on her. Fifth she exerted so much energy that she became dizzy. Sixth Mary was snickering not because it was funny, though it was, but because Mary understood a good amount of the French shouted. And seventh, the girl was escorted out of the room by a paramedic. Yeah, medieval literature just became more thrilling. Poor girl, she's going to have to deal with that little episode forever. Take it from a girl who broke down over a low grade on a calculus project her senior year of high school causing her teacher and friends to gather around hugging her while she sank to the floor in tears. Not my best day. For me though it was alright, the grade was altered since two typos were to blame. It became a B, but I had to deal with everyone knowing that I had a mental breakdown during fourth period until graduation day. The moral of the story, freak out senior year; that way you don't have to deal with the aftermath for as long. Sadly for that French girl, this is only her second year of college.