Lost
Written by The Lassie
Quite a while ago, I sent a recorded letter – containing my exam application for Educational Science – to my university. I was told to be patient, as the processing of applications was going slow at the time.
I got antsy about 8 weeks after posting the letter and inquired again. Which is when I found out that my papers never actually arrived at the examinations office. I immediately panicked, as the letter contained my Studienbuch originals (a record of all classes I have ever taken at uni). This record exists nowhere else. There are no electronic Studienbuch records of any kind. If my Studienbuch is gone, I won’t be able to take any more Masters exams.
I spent the next few days contacting all possible and impossible places to figure out what had happened to my letter, but to no avail. In the end, I wrote to my professor and explained the situation. I never actually heard back from him, but about one week later, I received an email from the examinations office, telling me that my professor had just personally handed in my application!?!
I have no idea how that’s even possible – the letter couldn’t have gone to him, as he has no postal address that I could have accidentally sent my letter to. I wrote an email back, asking how that was possible, but never received a reply. Instead, I was sent an email containing an exam date of 13th July. So I decided to just let it go and was happy I could move on – although by that time, almost three entire months had passed.
Right now, I am struggling because I have lost those three months. I will not be able to finish my Masters before Sweet Pea is due, as I had been planning on doing. That in itself is scary enough. Unfortunately, now it also seems I won’t be able to take the exam on 13th July, because work is crazy at the moment and has been for a while. If I do not perform to the company’s expectations, I will not have a job for much longer. I need this job, there is just no other way.
To top things off, people around me keep telling me how they just couldn’t finish uni under those circumstances and how very stressful they find my situation. I KNOW that I have a lot going on right now, but I really just want some sort of support, be it emotional or otherwise. I feel so overwhelmed and stressed out and I am just that kind of person who will eventually crumble under constant pressure. I really can’t believe this…my Masters are 1/3 finished and now it feels like I will never be able to complete my degree.
June 19th, 2011 at 12:34 am
Oh dear, poor Lass! But if you really want to finish your degree, you will. Maybe not before SP arrives, but you’re young and have the rest of your life. You can do it. You are Woman! Just be kind to yourself and don’t overdo things just now.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:16 pm
You WILL get it done my dear, because that is who you are. You are strong and capable and wise beyond your years. You CAN do this, you WILL do this, and that is simply that.
Can you reschedule the exam? I’m sure you don’t want to, but if your job is crazy busy you just won’t have enough time to prepare. Sometimes you have to pick your battles, and your job (unfortunately) is more important than your degree for the moment. Yes, it’s hard; but people like us don’t have the support systems that others take for granted. We take care of ourselves, because WE are the only ones we can depend on.
Universities in the US are pretty understanding about those kind of things – adults have lives outside of education, and sometimes those lives get messy and inconvenienced. I hope yours is as accommodating.
Don’t crumble under the pressure. You’ve worked too hard to get to where you are today. Don’t let one setback derail you. People who feel stressed about about your situation should just learn to SHUT UP about it. We do the best we can with the circumstances we’ve been given.
You’ll be okay, my friend. I promise.