We are all down to our final weeks of our sophomore year. The first half of our college career will be completed in a matter of days. As the remaining days go by, I start to think about how many exams and papers and assignments I have to complete before I leave Ann Arbor for four months. Finishing these assignments is dreadful, but I know that I have to compete against my peers for the better grade. Planning our last few weeks is like a game.
First, we plan out how we are going to go about finishing our assignments. Then, once we have a game plan, we actually complete it. The feeling of finish a 20 page Psychology paper (for me) is the best feeling. Knowing I put in so much effort into an assignment is rewarding, no matter the grade. For me, finishing something I put a lot of time into gives me the same feeling as winning my first soccer game. I was nervous about it, but in the end I was proud of how the game, and the paper, went.
Getting past the academic aspect of my final days, there are a bunch of activities and places I want to go to in my last 10 days. An omelette from Angelo's, sit outside for lunch at Charlies with my friends, visit the farmer's market, and one last night out on the town to celebrate.
We are almost at the finish line. We are almost done with dreadful papers and exams. We are so close. W are so close to four months of sun and relaxation :)
image from: http://www.askcms.com/mind-body-spirit/easy-ways-improve-relaxation-home/
This is such an easy post to relate to. I constantly find myself writing out everything I have to do, when its due, and when I am going to do it. Making my work/study schedule honestly has become like a game, especially when I have to factor in any social activities in. School during finals week honestly is just like a game and our report card is the final score. I like the way your post pointed this out.
ReplyDeleteEven though this post makes me sad to think about the end of school, I completely agree. I love finals time when you finally get to put to use everything you have learned over the semester to reach a final goal. I also like to see how people come together at the end of the year to put together everything they have learned for the common good. People sharing study guides, making study groups, coming together to try to help each other get the best possible grade, just like a team. I definitely see school as a game, and sometimes as competing against my peers for a grade, especially when a curve is involved, but my favorite part about the year is when people stop competing individually and become a team to complete their tasks together.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I always found the end of a school year to be bittersweet. In college, this feeling of bittersweetness turned into mostly just bitterness. I agree that while the end of the year comes with papers, tests, presentations and trying to get every last percentage point you can, it also comes with the gratification of knowing you have completed another year of education. You have another year of experience, learning and knowledge under your belt and you are credits closer to graduation. Graduation. A finish line that I'm not sure that I'm in a rush to get to. This is when my bitterness and anxiety creeps in. It feels like just yesterday I moved into Markley and now I'm half way done with my undergrad experience. This is where I can totally relate to that feeling of wanting to squeeze a lot into the final days of college. Going to my favorite restaurants, spending time with my friends who I wont see all summer, and going out on nights when I should be in the library are characteristic of this time. To me, while these last few weeks of school are about getting your work done, they are also about making the most of your last days of sophomore year and the years to follow because before you know it, the finish line won't just be the end of sophomore year, it'll be the end of senior year.
ReplyDelete-Paige Rowin
The Ninejas
I can definitely relate to what you were talking about game planning for the last few weeks before the semester ends. I found myself making a to-do list so that I wouldn't forget everything that I have to accomplish in the week ahead. Its hard to really see how much time we waste throughout the semester only to cram every last ounce of productivity into the last few weeks of classes and exams. I wish there was some way to have a more flexible schedule for finals and papers, but alas we go to Michigan, and in odrer to be the best, you have to compete with and against the best.
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