Finals week has finally come upon us. Yes, after weeks of regular homework, regular tests and regular nights out drinking, the semester is finally coming to an end. For freshman, all they want to look forward and for seniors, all they want to do is look back. It's always so interesting to see the opinions and expressions of each person you know and how they are dealing with the end of the school year. College is such a great thing based on the fact that you don't seem nearly as pigeonholed in your own academic class and instead have friends from all separate years. You have the excited and oblivious freshman friends and you have the mature, slightly over everything seniors. The freshman friends will be ecstatic for the summer and the seniors will cry. The end of a chapter for many but the continuation of a chapter for others. As I see more and more of my senior friends go I can't but help think about two things. One, I will in fact be a senior next year. ME. The little innocent freshman that I once knew of myself is gone and taking its place is a completely different person. Two, however, focuses on more of the general idea how much we should all love the academic side of our lives. Yes, studying in the early hours of the morning are terrible and make you wanna throw something off your balcony but the more and more I think about the idea of not having to go to classes or anything is not only bizarre but downright saddening. As I hear not just myself but many others complain about having to take finals I couldn't help but feel rather spoiled of taking this life for granted at times. How lucky are we to not only be given the opportunity to take part in one of the highest levels of academic learning but that we are doing it as our main responsibility. Yes, we all have part-time jobs and extra-curricular activities but besides that what else? We only have ourselves to take care of, many of us have financial support and we enjoy the idea of partying every now and again. Many people in the world do not have such an opportunity as us and no, I'm not trying to make you feel like a terrible person but when did it come to the point where learning become so downright crappy where we have to suppress our stress and anxiety with alcohol, caffeine and who knows what else? All the graduates, alumni and parents that I talk to always say how they miss not just their undergraduate time that they spent but their time at graduate school or med school or law school. Learning and reading and writing and solving problems should certainly be things that we should appreciate because before we know it... maybe those things won't happen as often. Maybe once we take a complete and utter stop to learning that we realize just how important and enjoyable it was in our lives and how it in fact made our lives.
Finals are here, that's an obvious statement but are you going to sulk and wish you never had to take that final or will you appreciate where you are and what you are doing before it's gone?
