The semester is officially over! 😎 I made an 89 on my Math for Liberal Arts final and finished that class with a 91. But the instructor was phenomenal and I never really had many issues there, once I found my groove.

I haven’t posted much about it, because I was really hoping things would improve. But I have struggled so more with A&P 2 than I ever have in any class I’ve taken. I don’t believe the material or my amount of effort was the problem. I have never felt so dissatisfied with an instructor. There was such limited assistance or guidance. The exams rarely reflected information outlined in the reviews; the PowerPoints (most say they were last updated between 2007-2012) were full of errors and often significantly differed from the lecture videos; and the textbook was barely referenced. In other classes, I’ve been able to use Khan Academy or other resources to deliver the material from a different perspective. So, I thought it might be helpful here. It was not. I would often feel really confident in my grasp of the material… only to be confused and proven wrong by exam question after exam question. 😦

I reached out for help a few times and I was always given a similar response: “The material is clearly stated in the PowerPoints and lecture videos.” But it wasn’t, at least not for me. 😔

I found some solace in the fact that former students {even some of my closest friends} have had similar experiences with this instructor, but solidarity can’t protect you from failure, which was my greatest fear in this class. I’ve been barely holding a C in this class all semester, living in absolute terror that any misunderstood question or forgotten detail would sabotage my entire future. It’s been the most stressful, agonizing, and emotionally exhausting semester of my life… which is mind boggling, because I survived a category 5 hurricane from inside my Jeep. 🤯 I won’t say this class has been worse than the hurricane, but I’ll just say both events will be infamously etched into my mind.

Fortunately, nothing lasts forever and this atrocious chapter has finally come to an end so I can move on. But the last hurdle of this class was just as complicated as the others.

I just finished my A&P 2 final. I’m relieved to be finished, but I honestly feel a little violated. 😳 It was the most bizarre, surreal experience. 😱

In all my ranting about this class, hubs has been adamant that my many struggles may just be due to the nature of online learning. That’s an interesting point. It’s wrong, but still interesting. 👍🏻 I have taken other online classes and so have countless friends and colleagues. I can assure you, my experience with this class is not the norm. I also want to preface that the level of security I’m about describe is not an industry standard for online education. It is solely at the discretion of your instructor. 🧐 Apparently my instructor believes online students cannot be trusted. 👀

In my house there are numerous devices. We have 2 chromebooks, a kindle, an LG tablet, an android phone and my iphone. None of them were compatible with the browser required for this final.🤦🏻‍♀️

So, how did I take my online A&P 2 final exam.

I went to the designated testing center in the campus library. It began with a 15 minute student and equipment verification process. First, I logged into the Respondus lockdown browser, you know, to prevent me from opening other webpages, or copying and pasting exam questions to sell to other students. {yes, that’s actually something explicitly stated by the software.} 🤨 Then came the webcam check to ensure there’s a clear view of me taking my exam. {I hope they delete the videos after the exam, because I looked a lot like I do on the Target self-checkout camera. 😂} After the webcam check, I was prompted to record a 60 second environment check showing my surroundings on, around, and under the computer and its desk. {The environment is a proctored campus testing center, so this seems a little unnecessary, but I guess it’s the same process regardless of your testing location.🙄} Then, the webcam took a picture of my face {read 👉🏻 mugshot} and a subsequent photo of my student ID for comparison, this is to prevent a student from coercing a friend or colleague into taking the exam in his/her place. 😯

I want to pause for a moment to say I think I need better friends. 😤 NO ONE. Not. A. Single. Person. ever offered to take my exams for me. 😭 Why has no one told me this was a thing.🤷🏻‍♀️ I feel so unloved. 😩

Okay, I guess I needed to do this all by myself so I could learn the material and what not, but it would have been nice if someone had at least offered. 😭

Anyhoo, I finished jumping through all of the hoops and finally started my 2 hour exam. I swear I’d never seen or heard 40-50% of the material she asked about on this exam. Which isn’t all that surprising with this class…🙃 It was intense. They may flag me for suspicion of cheating because I could not stop looking around the room at the walls, the floor, and the ceiling, as if some divining spirit was going to make answers magically appear. I’m sure the replay will be very entertaining for the individuals who review the footage. 😬

I’m not even sure how, and I honestly don’t even care at this point, but somehow I managed to score a 76, which gives me a 73 for the class. 👩🏻‍💻

Is it the best grade I’ve ever received? No.

Did I Kill It? No. I barely survived. 🥴

Am I satisfied? YESSSS! 🥳 Not just because I’m done with this class! 💃🏻 {Although that’s a feat in itself.😬} But I’m also incredibly proud of myself. I truly feel like I gave this class everything I had and some things I didn’t even realize I had. 😳 I worked for every single fraction of a point I earned.

Plus, I already have my “Class from Hades” story. Some nursing students have to go YEARS and obliviously think it will all be smooth sailing before they’re blindsided with this kind of adversity.😆

I deserve a reward… Is a nap a reward?🤔 Cuz it’s exhausting being a super stoked C student in a dystopian society. 😂