COLUMN: It sure isn't the Christmas season without exams
‘Tis the season of cramming for finals. I know it’s college, but I would much rather be watching "Elf."
The only cramming that should be going on is watching Buddy the Elf write an apology note for cramming 11 cookies into the VCR in "Elf" — which sometimes I feel like doing.
Trying to find a seat at the library this time of the year is like going through the seven levels of the candycane forest and through the sea of swirly-twirly gum drops. Not to mention, everyone looks like they thoroughly hate their lives.
Finals are stressful. Professors act like it’s no big deal. “The exam is over Chapters 1 through 22. Study your notes.” Sound familiar?
Somehow, they always manage to wrap up the entire semester into a stapled 8.5 by 11-inch paper that weighs heavily on the final grade — or as I like to think of it, "the maker or the breaker."
The time it takes to prepare for exams is more than a full-time job. Plus overtime. I can’t help but think about all the better, Christmas-productive things I could be doing. Buddy seems to have it all figured out, like engaging in festive activities such as making snow angels for two hours, ice skating, eating a whole roll of Tollhouse cookiedough and snuggling. That sounds entirely more appealing than studying molecular shapes.
I feel like a 12-year-old again anticipating Christmas and all the festivity the season brings, not to mention my inability to sit down with a book in front of me. To maintain some sort of energy, I deplete my body with the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
Christmas is a season of giving and spending time with family and friends. The lights, the music, sitting by the fire, the Christmas cookies and the mistletoe, of course, all contribute to the magic of the season.
Even though exams surely put a damper on the magical time of the year, we need to keep one thing in mind — Christmas is all about giving. We are all here to build the proper foundation to make a difference in the world, while following our passions. We have the gift and the ability to learn and receive an education, so why not share our knowledge with the world? When feeling stressed and frustrated, I try and remind myself of that.
But nevertheless, exams still suck. The overwhelming feeling pumping through my entire body for two weeks is finally released the moment I step out of the doors of my last final exam. Finally I can breathe. And what’s the first thing I do? Pack up my things and put on Faith Hills’ “Where are you Christmas?”
Finally, the festivities will begin.
