Day 65: Late Nights and Long Books

School life continues, classes have to be attended, homework finished, reading completed or ignored, and a social life to hide from. Three days into classes and I’m already behind on the reading. Over the course of the next week I have over 1000 pages of reading to complete and sleep to ignore.

Day 65 also brought with it my first tutoring shift at work. Every Wednesday evening I sit in the commons of the History Department for four hours, ready to offer assistance to anyone who comes in. My first shift was long, with no one showing up and a mound of reading to slog through. I ended up staying until long after my hours ended and the security guard kicked me out so he could lock up. I have a rather sinking feeling that this is going to become a routine. Maybe I will bake the security guard some brownies in an attempt to get on his good side since I will likely be kicked out by him at least twice a week.

The long shift allowed me to get through a good chunk of my most immediate reading. Armed with a large pot of tea, my favourite pencil, several bookmarks, and an empty notebook for recording observations, I cloistered myself away and read. By the time I was kicked out, my head was full of new information and more than willing to sleep. There was still a 500 page book to get through, but that would have to come at a later time.

The hobbits, at this point of their journey, are still slogging through the valleys of the Lone-lands. In front of them the land begins to rise allowing them to see a group of hills ahead. Their journey would be an upward one for a good ways. It must have felt daunting seeing the land spread out before them. They had already come a long distance, and now the distance and hills which stretched before them might have seemed discouraging. Still, they trudged on.

Even with the long day and massive amount of studying to accomplish, I still managed a good 5.29 mile (8.5 km) walk. Just as the hobbits must trudge on through difficult terrain and dire situations, so must I continue my journey despite a busy schedule. Continuing this journey and learning more about what the hobbits faced is the least I can do, after all the perils they went through to get as far as they did. I just hope that my journey will never be half as dire as what the hobbits have already had to face.

The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons