For some reason, I feel like a total stress ball about next semester. This is supposed to be a vacation, and all I can think about is how much work I'll have around the end of February into March. I can't say I'm worried about not actually getting the work done: I just worry about what kind of crap I'll have to turn in just to get everything done, and what that'll mean to my overall GPA (or "yearly aggregate" at UEA), since I'd really love to get a first this year. I also worry about what I'll have to sacrifice to get all my work done: I had a shitty year and a half, and I've been looking forward to this year so much, I can't bear the thought of being required to lock myself in my room to do useless work now that I've finally made friends and finally like where I am.

So. I decided to get creative with my situation. Dickinson has said they're requiring me to take Humanities 310. The work for the Dickinson class is what's putting me over the edge the most (based on a) the uselessness of it to my current situation, b) the stupidness of having to be required to take it for no legitimate reason, and c) the needlessly-harsh D- I already got on the paper proposal, which is something like 15% of the entire grade for the paper, which is 60% of the grade for the course). The solution to this is to not take Humanities 310, despite the requirement.

I asked UEA what classes my "yearly aggregate" is composed of, since I have to get above 40% to stay on for my final year (sounds easy to get above 40%, and it is, but keep in mind they basically grade out of 75% max). They wrote back and said they only care about my 6 UEA modules and could give a monkey's (as Rosie would say) about what grade I get in Humanities 310. My new plan of attack is to just...purposely fail Humanities 310 by not doing the paper. If I don't have time to do it and if the authorities that matter don't care about it, what's the harm? My professor is the one who originally suggested it to me anyway: I wouldn't have thought of that myself, and I didn't like the idea when I heard of it, but then again, back then, I thought they would let me off the Humanities 310 hook. I think I'm on the verge of desperate (though I don't know why the desperation has set in so early).

General question to those who actually read this (cue crickets): bad idea, or nothing to lose? I don't like the idea of bad grades on my record, but I have the feeling they're going to happen anyway, especially if I have to spend all my time learning about the British educational system and trying to glean information out of people who don't want to talk to me for 15 hours. I might as well pour my energy into the classes that actually matter, and keep myself sane in the process.