As the fall semester is winding down and we return from Thanksgiving break to finish up classes and take our finals, we're all feeling similar feelings. Here are some things every college student feels about the end of the semester.
Relief.
First and foremost, we're relieved that it's almost over. We've worked and worked and worked all semester to get to take finals to pass our classes. Christmas break is the middle of the school year, and the first long break we get. If we didn't have a nice break to look forward to, we would never make it through the spring semester. I know I wouldn't. Seeing the finish line in sight when it first feels so far away is one of the best feelings for a college student.
Stress.
Of course, the semester isn't over yet. We still have to make it over the biggest hurdle: finals. Midterms are a breeze compared to finals. It's made worse by the fact that Christmas break is so close you can taste it. The last little bit of the semester is spent cramming our minds with as much information as we can fit in them, and then some. Finals are a seemingly impenetrable wall we have to painstakingly climb in order to get to the other side where the holidays lie in wait.
A little sad.
Weeks without seeing our friends from school? It sucks. We all wish we could see our college friends over the holidays and share some of the happiness of the end of the semester with them. It's also not fun to get a Thanksgiving break and have to come back to finish up. Who decided that the semester should end after Thanksgiving? Why not before? In fact, half of the semester should be a holiday break.
Excitement.
The semester is almost over! We get to see our families, hometowns, and hometown friends, and get all kinds of good things with Christmas break: food, presents, and time with our loved ones. Most of us will get to sleep in a lot. We'll be free of worry about homework and lab reports and research papers. We get to hug our pets and parents and sleep in our own beds. We'll have completed another semester in our college careers, which is one step closer to graduation.
Christmas spirit (or whichever holiday you celebrate).
Decorating the dorm just doesn't cut it. Being home and celebrating the holidays is one of the best feelings in the world. Most everyone has holiday traditions they observe. For my family, we decorate our house and tree and spend as much time as we can with our families at my grandparents' houses. Having a break between semesters is nice, but it's made even better by the fact that it's Christmas. The holidays are the best time of the year, in my opinion. There's really no downside.
