I know that I've mentioned this before, but I feel very fortunate to have found something that I'm passionate about so early in my college education. I have my last mid-term today in my English class and have been defining all of the schools of literary criticisms, and I am fascinated and wish I could read forever on Post-Structuralism. How nerdy is that?

I'm glad to have had such an expansive overview of literature throughout high school: New Woman fiction would probably seem very distant to me if I had not read "A Doll's House" (which is Ibsen's best play, in my opinion. Very short. Everyone should read it). The only thing I don't like is learning that Realism and Modernism (theories that I particularly like) have a lot to do with James Joyce. *Shakes fist* Damn you, James Joyce! You AND your nuns!

I have little stomach for Catholic guilt. It just irritates me after a while.

Anyway, I've been working on my own novel a bit over the past few days, thanks to some lovely piano music that I just downloaded. I think I'm most intrigued by all of this literature stuff because it's helping me decide how I should write my story: I'm going for something vastly feminist...time to learn about Feminist criticism! (Although I think I have a pretty good handle on it. I read EVERY book like a Feminist. I can't help it.)

Gender roles and sexuality will be major components of my novel, as will post-modernism and a little existentialism, too, as I've always been a fan. Not a big enough fan to write that, exclusively, but enough to include elements of it. Okay, I'll stop talking about that...it's making me sound like someone with a pocket-protector and an edition of Sartre that is falling apart. (I should probably buy one of his collections...)

So, here's hoping that I pass my mid-term. After that, I'll be starting on my papers on Emily Dickinson and Margaret Laurence. Good stuff. Happy April (almost)!