I Don't Go Shopping

Ok, that's a bold-faced lie. I was just quoting the title of one of my all-time favorite songs, originally recorded by Philadelphia's own beloved daughter, Patti LaBelle.

The type of shopping that inspired this entry, however, does not include the many Walnut Street shops in Center City, nor does it involve The Shops at Liberty Place, nor does it mention the excellent King of Prussia Mall. I'm in an academic mindset today, and I'm thinking about all of the shopping that I'll be doing in January...for classes.

The advance registration window closes this weekend, so we all will have entered our preliminary requests for courses. We'll get our schedules in a few weeks, but because the add/drop window stays open for a few weeks into the semester, we're lucky to have the option of sitting in on any and all classes we find interesting. While Penn GSE doesn't have an official shopping period, everyone shops around for the first week or two (or three). It's great, because the professors don't waste much time in the first week of class doing lengthy introductions; they dive right into the content. It's very helpful for indecisive folks (like me) who need to get a feel for several classes to determine the best fits. One of my friends went to basically every class that was offered this past semester, and she was able to identify the classes that best met her needs. It sounded exhausting, but I think that she is amazing for having taken advantage of the opportunities.

I've already thought about the classes I've chosen and am not sure that I am going to keep all of them -- there are just too many good choices!! I plan to do a lot of shopping in January...without spending a dime!