So I've been out of school for a while now.  Ran out of money (main reason) and I got a little burnt out because I was trying to hurry up and finish this BA so I can go to a grad school.  Lately, I've been figuring what's the rush.  Although I like the pressure, I'm in school to learn not get all stressed. And I'm still going to be conservative cash-wise because I'm trying to save for a trip to Europe too. Two or three courses a year is my goal for now.I enrolled in a Renaissance course for September.  I emailed the instructor asking her if I can do a paper on the Dutch.  She said yes!  So now I'm psyched and have a whole summer to get a head start on the research paper.  Thinking of either something with economics or banking (maybe I can compare Amsterdam with Venice somehow), VOC, Dutch naval exploration, or maybe even something with art.  Just need to be careful that the paper will be within the timeframe of the Renaissance. I believe the Dutch Republic falls under that category...but then again, I guess that depends on how one defines when the Early Modern period started (I think there's a big overlap anyway).