Transcendence

Transcendence

My thoughts on Spring Semester 2021 are very straightforward actually. This is my final semester as a student at FAMU as I graduate this coming April, and this semester has definitely been the most unexpected and simplest term in the four years I have spent at the University.

I started the Spring Semester with six classes, the most I have ever taken, four of them being History classes (one being online), since that is my major. As well as the ENC class and an American literature. I was booked for the Spring, but to my surprise it was not as much of a workload like I thought it would be. Everything was relatively light-hearted and I never had to pull any all-nighters finishing up papers and tests. Although I like to get things done instead of waiting to the last minute. As for the experiences in my classes I must say they were fun and engaging. The biggest surprise was facing a global pandemic facing the intense Coronavirus or COVID-19 for short.

I personally think the Coronavirus is a modern day plague since there have been thousands of people becoming infected and dying from the disease. Due to my compromised immune system I have to stay indoors and I only go out to get essential items as quickly as possible. However, since I am a commuter student taking my classes at home has saved me from using up gas in my car, and each class has become a lot simpler.

My online World History class was hands down the easiest course I had to take especially since it wasn’t available for two years. However, I learned a lot from reading the videos and the textbook on ancient Mayans, Confucianism, and Egyptian pharaohs such as Rameses. The night class I took which was African-American History 1865-Present was the most entertaining class I took because everyone had fun working in their respective groups presenting a powerpoint of a specified historical topic.

This excitement happened in a class where everyone would be tired but not at all. My AML (American Literature and Non-Fiction) classes helped improve my skills as a writer. Especially since I am an author with two books Voyages of the 997 and The Method Mission. These two classes helped me understand how imperative sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation is in writing. The three particular skills will and have made me a better writer. Now personally I do think some papers should have gotten a better grade, but that is out of my control so I have to deal with it.

As for the final two courses which are 20th century History and African-History, these two fall in the filler portion of my class schedule. Now I do not take them lightly at all, because making the best grade possible in both is the number one priority. I didn’t have to do much for the 20th History class except turn political cartoons, take the Midterm, and the final paper. The African-History class is my least favorite because the pace is slow and there is way too much information piled on the tests, since two exams cover 5-6 chapters for both. Plus I’m too keen on the intern grading the papers but that’s just me.

The Spring Semester has been a smooth and unexpected run for the start of 2021. I am finishing FAMU as a student ambassador for CSSAH, and completing all of my classes online. Now I do have to say if there was a choice to take all my classes online without the circumstance of contracting the Coronavirus. I would definitely take it because I have always done better working online than in physical classes. With the Covid-19 pandemic spreading rapidly by the minute I have managed to get an abundant amount of work done and I’m curious to see how graduation will work out in May, but as long as I pass and get my degree, that is all that matters.

Overall, this semester has been one of a kind and something I will never forget. It began as a normal everyday Spring Semester at the start of the new year, and became a strictly digital term in the middle of it. This is the first time FAMU and other universities became exclusively online schools and without a doubt an unforgettable moment in history. Finally, I Kylecovey Smith, History major student and ambassador at Florida A&M University, must say that I have had an incredible experience, and I am a proud Rattler from now and forever.