I woke up this morning fifteen minutes before my 9:30AM class. In a panicked frenzy, I hurriedly dressed myself, printed the paper that was due today for which I had sacrificed sleep, gazed longingly at my Keurig that I knew would take thirty seconds too long to brew my coffee, and jogged across campus to my class on feminist theory. On my way to class, I began to notice the students all pacing silently, each to their own classes, own papers, own tests. Frustrated grimaces and eyes still half-closed in sleep, they, too, had abandoned, marked the faces of my peers. When I arrived to class, the girl sitting next to me struggled to catch her breath; she admitted to me that she had also had overslept. She had woken up five minutes ago. I sighed out of relief, realizing I was not alone.
Though I cannot speak for other college campuses, I do sense the stress accumulating at this time of the semester at Wake Forest. The last day to drop classes is next week, and professors are eager to test or assign papers to students, giving them the opportunity to experience the grading they can expect from that class as the semester proceeds. Any uncertainties or "testing the waters" of classes and professors draws to an abrupt end now. The semester is speeding up, and the number of hours students sleep a night often goes down. We have chapters to read, arguments to support, equations to calculate.
Believe in yourself, fellow Deacs, as well as students from campuses everywhere! Take heart knowing that everyone around you relates the pressure you feel. We are all treading these waters of a college-education together. Take a walk to the library and feel the quiet tension emitted from students who just want to survive the week. Students who are just like you.
A sophomore friend of mine recently told me what she loved most about spring semester. She said that while Fall semester begins with long, sunny days and warm evenings, it typically ends with a strange cold tension in the air. However, spring semester is the opposite. In the beginning weeks, students and faculty alike seem to be affected by the cold weather, and there is again that cold stressful atmosphere on campus that lowers people's spirits. But soon, those long, sunny days return to campus. Students study outside, release their tensions by tossing a football on the lower quad or by taking a pleasant walk on the nearby Reynolda Trails. With the Spring comes this energy of rebirth and possibility that even the most stressed, sleep-deprived student cannot escape.
Brighter days are coming, everyone. While I understand how easy it is to worry for a test that is tomorrow or to concentrate all your energy on a paper that needs submitted by midnight, remember to keep your work in perspective, too. The cares of right now will pass soon enough, and we all have happier days ahead of us.
