English major's nightmare

I was ready for a few hours at the library. I had my smuggled 32 oz. of Big Gulp Pepsi and was pumped to get some quality work done on my critical theory research paper. I put my flash drive into my computer and clicked on the folder that housed my document. And I was consequently informed that the file or document was corrupted and unreadable. It wasn't saved on my computer, because I'd been working on the school computers all week. My paper was gone, kaput, corrupted.

. . .

I sat at the desk and cried for at least fifteen minutes--tears literally streaming down my face. Seriously. My whole heart sank at the reality that I had to rewrite the first four pages of my research paper. Having to rewrite four pages of a paper would be a bummer anyway, but rewriting four pages of a critical theory paper?? You've got to be kidding.

After I grieved, I bit the bullet and dived back into my paper. I buckled down and was able to rewrite what I'd lost and then continue to write a bit more, reaching a good stopping point for the night around midnight. The rewrite isn't as good as what I had the first time, but oh well; it's rewritten, and now I just have to make sure I can finish this fifteen-page paper by next Thursday at five. Dad was trying to find some application that could restore my files from my flash drive, but I decided to just start rewriting anyway; if there wasn't a way to restore the file, then I would have lost even more time to write.


It turned out okay, though (especially with the Caramello bar Katie gave to me earlier this week). Emily posted a shout-out to my dire situation on her blog, and I definitely felt the Lord's strength in getting me through the evening. Something was a little off, because I found I kept leaving out words in my sentences, and I didn't always agree my subjects with my verbs (it was bizarre--I don't know what misfired in my brain), but it got done.

And last night, I felt the true power of solidarity and tender mercies: I was texting my parents, who we giving me cheers and encouragement, and honestly the blog comments were so bolstering. Emily left me a spirit-lifting Post-It on the car for me to see when I finally left campus, and I ran into my friend Emily (different from my sister :) ), who gave me a conciliatory hug, and I saw my rooommate Katie in the LRC. Even though I suffered a significant academic misfortune, things turned out okay. I felt loved last night, and even more than needing my paper to magically reappear, I needed to feel loved. Thanks :)