May the odds be ever in your favor
By Stephany Harrington, Columnist
As the last week of classes creeps around the corner, exams are following quickly behind them. I find myself thinking about how the semester has flown by, but I always end up thinking about the passage of time. It’s the same every time. Everything is terrible while I’m in the think of it. The hours pass so slowly and the days too. But then somehow, its already the end of the week, the end of the month and we just wonder where all the time has gone. And then I remember. It’s gone in to library hours, paper writing, book reading. Of course I must factor in meal times, because those were essential break ours form the long arduous studying. And then I think of the activity that we really can’t get enough of. Sleep.
I am supposed to be getting about eight hours a night, but we all know that’s impossible. School takes up so much more time, that it seems irresponsible of me to sleep an extra hour when I should be working. And I think that’s a problem. People obviously can’t function at their best when they are sleep deprived, but we really have no choice. We power through it, sometimes only managing to sleep a few hours, even though we deserve so much more.
And that’s the way it goes. Preparing for finals is always the worst, because we are still finishing up major assignments that are due in these last two weeks before exams start. Professors are trying to push us across the finish line, but we are struggling to make it to the end. These restless nights accumulate until we can barely keep our eyes open for our morning classes.
I hate to admit this, but I know that it’s true. Near the end of the semester, when all of our assignments are inconveniently due at the same time, I find myself just getting it done. There comes a time when the stress weighs so much that I hit a breaking point. I am just getting it done. For some things, I stop worrying about quality and just focus on handing it in so I won’t have to worry about it anymore. Certain classes and their assignments are sacrificed for the sake of another because, well, a class for my major is definitely more important than the lab science that will help me do absolutely nothing in my future.
So I make those sacrifices until the final day of classes, and I can finally take a breather. But then I realize that we don’t get a reprieve at all. Instead, there is a so-called reading day on Saturday. But mysteriously Celebration also takes place that Saturday. That is an event that some people are obligated to go, whether it’s for a specific class or a senior presenting their capstone. It especially is unfortunate when they have an exam the very next day. Sunday exams are a funny thing, because I never really heard of them until Gettysburg graced us with them. So for those who needed to spend all day at Celebration and have an exam the next day, may the odds be ever in their favor.
And actually, even if someone has an exam on the Monday of exam week, they still don’t have much time to study what they learned all semester. We deserve more than one day to study for that exam. With assignments due up until the last minute, hopes and prayers for success are really the only thing left. So many of us have worked so hard all year and are anxious to show that effort before the semester comes to a close. Stress levels are at an all time high. I’ve got my fingers crossed. We can do this.
