This morning I awoke well before my alarm clock with visions of Vindiciae contra Tyrannos and republican principles running through my head. I alertly woke up thinking that I need to write this down. I looked towards the window and saw that the sun was not up, and so I reached for my phone to check the time. 4:00. So I rolled back over, thinking to myself that I would remember these ideas when I got up, and could jot them down then while getting ready. But the spirit of "consent of the governed" kept me restless, and finally at 5:00 I got out of bed and began working once again on my paper. The good news is that I felt better about the direction my paper was going. The bad news was that IT WAS 5:00 IN THE FREAKIN' MORNING!! It was then that I realized the paper was starting to get to me.
Now, I am one of these people that writes better with the pressure on. I have been known to bang out a 5-7 page paper the night before it's due. However, since my grade is based on this paper and one other, much more deference was required. Thankfully it has not hit me in the form of complete, pull-your-hair-out stress, but the seriousness and importance was now starting to cause some interruptions in my patterns of sleep and such.
It was interesting to talk with other Fellows about their papers today. Some are putting the finishing touches on their final drafts. Some are getting confirmation on their ideas, and are ready to begin the process of writing. And some haven't given it a title. For those that have started, the confidence in what they are writing is becoming more evident after discussions with professors and fellow Fellows. Worry has largely been replaced with assurance. There is still some nervousness there, but every time a professor gives approval to an idea, we get a little more confident.
I have a feeling that Friday evening will be a matter of celebration for a lot of us.
Today was mainly spent on the aforementioned paper, though we had a good pedagogical seminar on how to use Supreme Court cases to teach Constitutional principles. For all of you Social Studies people out there, please let me know if you would like some of the resources that I have.
MEET THE FELLOWS: Pete Bartels is from Saginaw, Michigan. He is an avid runner, one of several we have in this cohort. Yet he never seems to slow down. He has energy galore. And apparently after he told some of his friends about how busy we are staying here, I made him look like a liar by putting in one of the blogs that I took a nap. As an apology for that, and a thanks for holding the door open, Pete, you are hereby mentioned in the blog.
TOMORROW: We are attending the James Madison Fellowship Board Meeting in the Dirksen Senate Building. This is a big deal, as we will get a chance to meet the Board Members, including Texas Senator John Cornyn. Following the meeting, we will have our lecture in the Senate, then return to campus, where most of us will get back to our papers.
Sounds like you are doing a good job in handling the balance between writing a really nice paper and not going nuts and shutting yourself off in your room and not enjoying the experience. While most of my papers have been forgotten - the rest is still clear in my mind. I remember meeting Orrin Hatch and Teddy Kennedy when I was there. RIP Teddy.
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