Bad Student I am

Yesterday, while sitting on the Light Rail, coming back from a final, I found myself thinking about how I am just a bad student compared to other people I know. Talking to my classmates, I realized that I spent much less time studying for the final exam than many of my classmates did. I also did not finish the final as quickly as some of them did either.

Not that I am worried about passing the class---if I get a decent grade on the final, then I will pass the class. The final exam I am most worried about is not until Thursday night. And I am not too terribly worried about that one either.

I guess part of the reason for my bad study habits is the simple fact that I believe that being able to get some sleep is more important than cramming more facts into my head.

Awhile back, I ran across someone blogging about how they were cramming for a Grade exam in one of the branches of the Golden Dawn. And honestly, I could not imagine being allowed to cram for an advancement exam.

Ok, for the record, I have never belonged to a branch that places a whole lot of emphasis on the material of the Knowledge Lectures. Why? Did I mention that I am a bad student? And yes, if you are a bad student with a distinct lack of willpower to memorize every comma in the Knowledge Lectures, there is a Order for you. If I can find them, so can you.

After all, not all of us are Harvard material...or Yale...or whatever is the punchline. See, I can't even learn a joke properly. Which is why I am community college material.

Don't ask me how I got into the University of Colorado at Denver. I still haven't figured that one out. Nor can I explain how I convinced my current advanced Adept advisor to help me. Maybe, my personality is a lot more pleasant than I think it is.

I am wary of cramming for any exam. But especially Golden Dawn exams. Hasn't research proven that information crammed leaks out of your brain as soon as the exam book is closed? I think I might want to know a few facts in case I wander off into the astral and met something that I don't like.

And my sponsor never gave me a chance to cram. Exams were spur of the moment affairs. It was felt that you either could pass the test on a two-second notice or you didn't pass. Not that they ever tested for the full set...but then again, you had to be able to do the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram from memory without people rolling in the aisles. (And other rituals in later exams.)

I would like to think that ritual skill is more important than being able to score 90% or more on the Knowledge Lectures. But what do I know---I gone to a community college, both academically and symbolically. I am a bad student and correspondence schools have always bored me. At least, I am aware of this---I know many people who do not have a clue that they are bad students. Yay for me and my slim supply of self-knowledge.