I don't know where the time has gone. This week has flown by as I never would have expected. Whoosh ! gone. I can flip through my agenda (one of those chunky, ugly types you get in highschool and at UofT they make you pay for - this one came with the college so I can't complain too much) and literally plan my entire semester around projects. Back in university, a whole month could elapse without any major work followed by two weeks of brutal essay/exam writing. Part of that was cause because none of the professors communicated with each other or cared about schedules for other classes. At Fleming, at least in the Museum programme, which is small, all the faculty know each other and they clearly set down their evaluation/project dates so that no week is particularly brutal. Instead, when I flip through my agenda, I am faced with an on-going stream of red ink through the entire term. One thing that this allows is appropriate time management. And, because so much of the work is team-based, you can't really fall behind. I say this now, but so far, so good.

I got my first assignment back, the one where I had to write about a profound museum experience. I kind of mocked the project at the time, but when I read it aloud to my mother, I realised just how much I managed to say in 1200 words and how well I'd said it. The instructor of that class informed us that he very seldom assigns marks above 90% so imagine my pleasure at discovering I'd earned a 93%. He said, "It was a real pleasure to read," and I kvelled. The marks for the two group assignments (from last week and today) should be in next Friday and hopefully we did well on those, too. I really do plan to rock this course. I am not the competitive person I was when I was younger, but I think I've learned to value doing well.

Anyway, Yom Kippur begins tonight, the Jewish day of Atonement. This is, as for many other religions, a season of reflection and contemplation, a time to look back on the year and set the tone for the year to come. It is harvest time. We reap what we sew. Though, generally speaking, I feel I've lived the past year with more compassion and generosity than I have in previous years, there are always situations or moments that slip through cracks. I may have hurt people, or undervalued someone. I know that I've certainly been hurt. I do not mean to cause pain and have worked hard to let go of the things that upset me, that I cannot change. I believe I am a better person and hope to continue into the new year on the same path. Shana Tovah, happy New Year, happy harvest, blessed be, etc., etc. As this year has marked a wonderful change for me, may the new year do the same for many others.