Remember how I said I would be done with finals the next time I wrote to you? Well, this post may be coming to you a little later than usual, but I did keep my promise! I just handed in my last exam all of ten minutes ago. Dobby is a free elf!
It’s definitely hard to muster up the motivation for the last session exam on a Friday afternoon, but one of the things that makes exam period here at Wellesley different is that we’re given the freedom to choose our own exam taking strategies through self-scheduling. Want to take three exams in two days and be on the plane home Tuesday night? You can do that. Or, if you’re like me, going into reading period already exhausted from the famous 21-page paper episode, you can spread out your exams over the whole week to maximize study time. Whatever strategy works best for you, Wellesley can accommodate it.
And yes, I did spend a couple minutes at around 10pm the night before my Chem exam, post-review session, lying on the carpet of Clapp Library because…finals. (See photo evidence below).
But there were also some good times, like our last friend group movie night of the semester, featuring Love Actually and copious amounts of bubble tea, or getting Indian food delivered last night with my two-friends still left on campus and accidentally ending up discussing the ethic of genetic disease test subjects and watching the SpongeBob marching band episode. It’s strange to think about how my friends will be jutting off to different continents this wintersession: India, Nicaragua, England, Israel…and then me, back to New Jersey. But also, that’s so cool, that I have such worldly and interesting people in my life. I can’t wait to hear about everyone’s adventures.
Not, of course, that I won’t be having adventures of my own this intersession. After making the mistake last year of waiting until March to do internship applications (not recommended), wintersession is unofficially devoted to applying to summer research positions. It’s a process not unlike applying to college again, but it’s also not unlike applying to actual jobs, so it’s good for me to get the practice even if some of these internships are a reach for me as a rising junior. Just knowing the application deadlines and having all my professor recommendations lined up puts me in a better place than last year. Now, it’s just a matter of putting in the time.
And I also have a job lined up for the next month or so! Last summer, I worked with a Peabody award winning freelance radio producer, editing some of her podcast series. And now, she’s asked me back (for pay this time!) to pick up where I left off. Editing podcasts is really all about storytelling, which is something I don’t get enough of but really enjoy. I’m excited to have the chance to do something creative, besides, well, the dreaded “why do you want to go here?” application essay.
And my final goal for wintersession is to spend some quality time with my violin. Finals week has meant I haven’t played a note in a week, and the separation anxiety is definitely getting to me. It sounds crazy, but I can’t wait to get back to playing scales and my new Rode etude, discarded in the pre-juries rush. And as much as I love the Jewett practice rooms (with windows!), it’s such a treat to get to play in my own room and zone out the world for a few hours of focus. It’s always nice to come back from break feeling on top of my repertoire again.
I look forward to keeping you guys updated with my own application process and the projects I’ll be working on. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with lots of fun and relaxation!
Until next time and ever lovely yours,
-Eleanor
The picture that kept me going through finals… going home to see this face tomorrow <3