End of the semester is in sight
There are two possible reasons behind the massive morale drop I experienced last weekend. First is the horrifying realization of all the deadlines filing out these final four weeks of school. Second could be the multiple seasons of ‘The Walking Dead” I managed to watch in three days.
Come to think of it, the two may be related.
In any case, Saturday found me so unenthused by life I could hardly get out of bed or concentrate on anything.
“What’s the point of all this work?” I wondered to myself. “We’re all going to lose our humanity in the zombie apocalypse anyway.”
Since then, when I have mustered the will to leave bed, my brain hasn’t been fully engaged. Recently, my roommate asked me, “How have you been today?”
I stuttered something like, “Not much, how about—what am you—what?”
It took me a while to realize that these are pretty common symptoms of the semester’s homestretch. The first stage for me is paralyzing fear, which is quickly followed by despondency. I have yet to find a total cure for this that doesn’t risk caffeine overdose.
The Despondency Stage generally wears off in a day or two due to necessity (as in, I have to get out of bed or I won’t know what final project is due when). It is followed by a state of general confusion.
I think it’s safe to say I’m still experiencing this, because I haven’t been able to order a burrito from Q’doba without correcting myself at least three times.
Luckily, my experience shows the next stage to be the final one. At the risk of plagiarism — or just being kind of lame — I refer to this as Git-er-done-itis. When time is running out and your GPA is on the line, you grit your teeth and go.
Will it be your best and most inspired work? Probably not, but at least it’s getting done. In this final stage, caffeine is to me as spinach was to Popeye: with enough coffee, I can move mountains.
That’s about what it feels like, too, as I’m looking at my list of deadlines. Yet I know I’m safely out of Stage 1 because I’m not so much horrified as steeled for battle.
After all, the end is very near, and not the zombie-apocalypse end either. Rather, on the other end of this semester is a beautiful summer with humanity still intact.
