Hello! Been a little while since my last post, so I decided to just give a little update on what life is like at LC so close to the end of the term.
Last week, we had our Thanksgiving Break. At LC, we typically only have two days off for Thanksgiving, the day of the holiday itself and then the next day. This means a lot of people end up staying on campus because of the limited break and it can be a little lonely. The dining hall closes, so those in the residence halls have to plan ahead carefully for the time without access to their meal plans.
Personally, I went home for Thanksgiving, and it was really nice to get off of campus and see my family. Though, I will say the travel was a little stressful in order to make sure I didn’t miss any classes on either end of the break. While it was a good break from the routine of campus, the Thanksgiving break isn’t really long enough to allow much travel and for those who live far from campus, I would advise against going home, even though it is a tough holiday to spend away from family.
As for the rest of the semester, we only have three days of classes left! It seems crazy to me that we’re really almost done for this term, time has really flown by. After Wednesday, our reading period will begin, and then finals start on Saturday morning.
I am one of the unfortunate students who will be taking an 8:30 exam Saturday morning. All of the Final Exam schedules are set in advance by the registrar’s office, so it’s nice to be able to plan ahead far in advance of the actual tests themselves. Half of my classes actually don’t have an exam at all, we turn in our final papers or projects during the exam period. For the courses that do have tests, each final exam period is three hours long, and typically professors write tests that are as long as their midterm exams. So, while it’s stressful, if you’re lucky, finals aren't as horrible as people can make it sound.
After all final exams are finished, we have about a day to pack up and vacate the dorms. For me, as a student on a study abroad program who won’t be on campus next semester, this means I also have to move everything out of my room! It’s going to be a busy week and a half!
Currently, I’m working on a few projects/papers, and starting up my study schedule in order to review for finals. The awful thing about this part of the semester is there’s this amazing light at the end of the tunnel (it’ll all be over soon, break is coming, etc), but right before the light, it’s like there’s a pit trap filled with spikes. Rush too quickly towards the break, and you’ll just end up hurting yourself in the process. But, concentrate too much on the spikes, and you forget about the break coming up and lose out on all the joy that comes with the end of the semester. It’s a tricky balance to hold.
Personally, I’m a little bittersweet about the end of this semester. It’s been just about the hardest semester of my life, dealing with returning to college in full swing as opposed to partially online, but I can really tell how much I’ve grown and learned in such a short period of time. Too, this is the first semester I’ve lived with one of my best friends, and next semester I’ll be far away from campus. I’m just trying to enjoy the time I have left surrounded by friends and this amazing community, finals be damned.
Anyway, just a little perspective on hurtling towards the end. Really, the last week of the semester isn’t very much different than the first, or any other. It’s all hard, and it’s all amazing.
