This week I missed my first assignment due date. Not only did I miss the due date, also I mis-interpreted the assignment completely. 

I sat down in my seat and noticed my peers all had neat, typed-up documents lying in front of them. The clue that there was an assignment due went straight over my head. 

When my professor arrived, she reminded the class to hand in their assignment before the end of class.

Wait, what?

It was definitely the most panicked I’ve felt so far this semester.  

Being a freshman, I wasn’t really sure what the procedure was for when something like this happens. 

In high school, teachers hound you until you get it done. 

I wasn’t sure if I should stay after class and talk to her, not say anything or send her a discrete e-mail. 

I went with the e-mail. 

Thankfully, a few other students in the class neglected to complete and turn in the assignment as well. My professor allowed me to turn in my assignment at a later date.

 But still, the fact that I’m not in too deep doesn’t counteract the fact that I still royally screwed up. 

I wrote down that the assignment was due on Oct. 4, not Sept. 24 and if I’d interpreted the assignment correctly, I would’ve known that the due date I’d written down wouldn’t even make sense. 

Before I started my first semester of college, I went to great lengths to ensure that this kind of thing wouldn’t happen. 

I bought a daily/weekly calendar, learned how to use the iCal on my Mac, and even program daily reminders in my phone for important events. 

Somehow, it still happened.

Between my hectic work schedule, coursework, story assignments, greek-life involvement and making time for everything else, my calendar is usually pretty full. 

On some days it’s so full, I give  myself an hour to hour schedule so I can plan to get everything done. I also do this to ensure that I don’t miss an event, homework due date, shift at work, class or deadline for Chart assignments. 

Somehow, despite my planning, it still happened.

A mistake like this is no one’s fault but my own. I’m still in shock that it happened, but, if anything, I’ve learned from it. 

I’m striving for that 4.0 grade-point average that seems close to reach, but definitely won’t be if I repeat this mistake a few more times. 

I’ve been like a Nazi this week with my calendar and more on track in my classes than I’ve ever been. 

I’m still holding a grudge with myself for the mistake I made, but in a sense I’m glad that it happened now, rather than later, because now I’m still eager enough to make the change I need to fix the problem. 

I’ll be calculating my time and assignments more carefully from now on.