Well, it's that time again.
Time for the lectures on:
The grading Rubric,
How many classes you can miss and still pass the class,
When you can and cannot be on your phone,
The uneven weight of exams and homework assignments is made apparent,
And where to locate your teacher when you are absolutely lost in the class. Not if, but when; we all know it happens.
That's right, it's syllabus week!
We all just came back from what seemed to be the longest break we have ever had, and we were excited for the second semester to begin.
Now with all of the due dates, exam dates, assignments, and people in your classes who ask way too many questions than what is seen as acceptable or tolerable, you now are no longer excited.
The excitement is soon taken over by nerves, anxiety, and stress.
Syllabus week is comparable to a roller coaster at the top of a hill that just starts falling down and never stops for the whole semester.
At first, you are excited to get back and see your friends, move everything back in your dorm room, eat some of the unhealthy food you oddly craved while being away at home, and going out to those back to school parties because at first we think "oh, it's syllabus week, nothing happens at this point in the semester."
Later on in the week, however, those feelings start to change and turn into "wow I have three homework assignments, two quizzes, a project, and four exam dates that are now scheduled, there goes my whole life."
Eventually, throughout the semester you just learn to balance the fun with the studying. Yes, we would all rather be having fun 24/7 because that's what college is for, right? Wrong, at least I learned it was wrong when I took a Chemistry class that called for sleepless nights, irritating lecture periods, and what seemed to look like an easy class at the beginning of syllabus week.
In the end, syllabus week is a way to sugar coat the rest of the semester, and make yourself unaware of the work you are about to be tasked with completing in order to achieve the grades you desire.