Reflections of a German History Graduate Student

Ok, the title is supposed to be a subtle reference to the Russian statesman Pobodenotsev's "Reflections of a Russian Statesman" from the late 19th century. Any body catch it? Didn't think so....

So, today I had my general pre-doctoral written exam in modern European history. This is essentially what I've been working my butt off preparing for over the last 3 months. It consisted of three written questions over an 8 hr. period.

As far as actually writing the exam, it didn't seem that bad. I had the questions the night before, and was able to write up extensive outlines for each question. I think the hardest part was just sitting in one room for 8 hours, and writing approx. 30 pages during that period. It was a massive test of endurance if anything.

In fact, I'd say it was almost anti-climactic. I spent so much time writing up these extensive reviews of every book under the sun only to discover that I actually used maybe 1/2 of the list. The funny thing is, no matter how much people tell you not to worry about it, that the reviews are pointless, you don't realize until the very end. At the same time, for the first time in months, I did feel like I had some large impending doom hanging over my head waiting to squash me. I actually kind of enjoyed a work-free evening for the first time in who knows how long. Although I was thwarted in my one plan for relaxation. I could not find Wayne's World at the local Target... Bah...

Well, for me this is round 1 of 3, albeit the worst of the three. Round 2 comes Friday morning when I take my sub-area exam in German history. Its a 4 hr. written exam for 2 questions. I'll be done at 1pm Friday. Hopefully there will be much rejoicing afterwards....