A short lesson on the right way to take notes

For a two-hour class, one would think that I would be doing a hefty amount of note-taking. The only actual notes for this particular class revolve around the essays that we recently had to turn in.

"Keep in mind," I wrote (and circled). I also made bullet points for things to remember when writing the next essay in the class.

• Title
• Historical present tense - ask yourself "so what?"
• Beware of generalizations

And that's it. The rest of the page was dedicated to whatever my mind could come up during that span of time (2-4 pm, Mondays and Wednesdays).

Here is a sample page of those "notes," taken on September 26th, 2007:

- I made up a new name for a character that I thought was funny: Dr. Chadwick Breasticus.

- I tried drawing some eyes, one being severed and floating through the air with a small trail of blood behind it.

- I drew the face of some man with Elvis sideburns, his chin and face starting to melt away for reasons unknown to me. He looks down and screams, "My FACE!!"

- A character drawn up to the chin is completely naked with a small censor covering his private parts. A *POOF* is coming out of his butt, along with little lines to indicate a vicious fart. In fact, it is so vicious that I draw someone's head literally being torn off by the force of the flatulence.

I really do learn a lot in the class - many valuable lessons that will help me grow as an adult and become a stronger intellectual. If Dr. Chadwick Breasticus and vicious, decapitating farts won't help me in the real world, then I don't know what will.