Some weeks on campus are blissfully quiet; no midterms, no papers, no deadlines. The days pass into one another languidly, you’re guaranteed a minimum of 8 hours of sleep per night (virtually unheard of otherwise), and all the responsibilities you normally have just kinda disappear.
Other weeks are…not. Suddenly it’s Monday, you’ve got a midterm at 10, a lab practical at 12, an interview at 7, and two papers due by 11:59. The past 17 days of my life have been a constant cycle of the latter; multiple (consecutive) all nighters at Brody (I love her, I really do, but never again), 26 different tabs open at all times, and just a perpetual state of frenzy.
In a rare study break before my Cognitive Neuroscience exam, I decided to go to the First Year Banquet! Basically, it’s an Oxford style sit-down dinner where students and faculty can dine together. It was a welcome break and the dinner was free (always a bonus). Unfortunately, the campus photographer and I have a very fraught relationship as he seems prone to capturing the WORST pictures of me (I knew he was sneaking a picture and I STILL look terrible – how does this happen). Exhibit A pictured below.
But really, having come out the other end of all this relatively unscathed has been a relief – the thing about having midterms at the same time in all of your classes is that you’ve got pretty much nothing for the next few weeks (barring, of course, extracurricular involvements which are just as important!). I would be remiss not to acknowledge that a lot of this stress was self-induced. Being the hypocrite that I am, I did NOT follow any of my no-procrastination tips that I oh-so-righteously doled out (blasphemous, I know). I would have saved myself a lot of grief if I’d paced myself and followed a structured study schedule as opposed to doing it all at once.
What can I say, ya live and ya learn.
