geology

Today is my last day in Geology class.  Taking a science lecture and lab together has been a challenge that requires a lot of reading and study.  I am coming away from it with a deeper respect for scientists and a greater knowledge of the earth.

My mom likes to tell the story of how I wanted to be a geologist when I was young.  I collected rocks from a young age, even having a rock exhibit in kindergarten.  When I was old enough to know how to classify, my parents gave me a rock-collecting lab for Christmas.  I loved it.

Fast forward forty years, and I am in a geology classroom at American River College, trying to keep up.  The teachers rely heavily on our (dense) textbooks and Power Point Presentations that have slides like this:

Extensional Faults - basement involved and detached.
Oh, yeah.  I said it.  That's right.

I eventually learned, for the evening classes I was taking, that early morning study sessions were my only hope.  I also had a kick-ass lab partner (whose mother is younger than me – and a geologist) and a killer study group.  We all learned basic vocabulary together and questioned the scientific process.

I call this my summer of science.  The science of doing well in any subject is study.  Enough study and one may become knowledgeable.  After knowledge comes proficiency, after proficiency comes mastery.  I am almost knowledgeable – and the semester is almost over.

Whew!