Student: A horde of homework and the pursuit of BRAINS.

August

I leave the University Bookstore with two bags full of books. When I get home, I add them to the collection of books I ordered online and the stack I bought at Prairie Lights earlier today. I stare at my bookshelf:

18 novels, 

5 collections of essays, 

2 books of poetry, 

2 graphic novels,

 and 1 Zombie Survival Guide. 

Then there are the articles and chapters of books to print from ICON for the semester: 
97 of them.

They all wait to be devoured. The plate is full, the task is daunting, but soon all of this will be in my brain.

October

It's Friday night. I've had 3 invitations to Halloween parties. I hear the other people in my house discussing their plans for the evening and perfecting their costumes. Meanwhile, I sit alone in my room with 6 syllabuses strewn across the floor in front of me. I'm making a plan for how I'm going to survive next week. 

"Okay, I need to read excerpts from four international writers for international lit. and write about it, and analyze some Follain poetry. Then I need to read a third of this nature novel for Monday, another third for Wednesday, and finish it by Friday. Facebook? No! Focus! Next... Zombie Autopsies. Can I read that in one sitting? Not quite, so.. half on Monday night the other half on Wednesday night. Woah.. I have 6 articles to print on ICON for my women writers class, and 4 to print for Intro to GWSS. That'll be an expensive print job. Incoming call from Boyfriend. I have a boyfriend? Oh yea... Hello? No, sorry. Maybe next weekend. Love you, too. Bye. What's going on at Prairie Lights this week? I still need to go to 5 readings... I guess I can make it to the one on Wednesday. Wait.. shit! I have a take home exam due on Thursday... when am I going to have time to get that done? Thursday morning. I'll just skip Zombie class that day. And I'll have to write up a summary and response for those GWSS articles by Friday, and meet with my independent study professor to tell her about the new research I found to add to my project. And then It'll be Friday! ... and I'll do this all over again."

December

The guy in the front of the room is disappointed that the the class doesn't explore the internet enough. The internet... what's that? I vaguely remember. I feel full. I am at capacity. No, not food. Did I eat breakfast this morning or leave it on the counter? At least I remembered my coffee. Coooofffeeee mmmmmmmm. No, it's my brain that's full. It's so bloated with knowledge. Theory, and Romero, and narrative point of view, and Brooks, and Classical references, and a zombie Bambi, and queering, and just when I thought I couldn't possibly consume any more stories about zombies into my brain, Zombie Haiku:

Death would be better

than another semester

of eighteen credits. 

But if I were dead, there would be no more learning. There would be no more brains. BRAINS! All I've ever wanted! Intelligence! Smarty pants! Books! I want more.. more Brains! 

Could I already be... a zombie?