Somehow, it’s December already. On one hand, I’m excited, because it’s now socially acceptable to listen to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” On the other hand, all I want for Christmas is to make it through two fifteen page papers and an inorganic chemistry final intact, so I can go home and lie on the floor with my dog.
Finals period, and the lead up into it, is always rough. And by rough, I mean there is inevitably a point where I wonder how on EARTH I am possibly going to get everything done, and then there is a second point where I wonder how on EARTH I am possibly going to go back to the library for another eight hour session for the fourth day in a row.
But the thing about finals period is that any good moment you have…it crystallizes. It stands out as poignant and necessary and beautiful in the midst of all that stress. So, partly to share some survival tips and partially to motivate myself to keep going, I’m going to share three of my favorite finals period memories below.
Marion, Massachusetts. Tucked in a house by the harbor, my best friends and I are writing papers. You would think going to the beach during finals period would be incredibly distracting, but in fact it has the opposite effect. It calms my frazzled mind, and somehow I am able to focus on etoposide induced apoptosis without feeling like I’m going to burst myself. It is warm inside, and a steaming mug of tea sits on the desk.
Marion
Bacon Free Library, Natick. We have taken up the hobby of “library hopping,” a concept similar to bar hopping only instead of going to a series of new bars, we go to a series of new libraries. This one is especially cute, a brick historic building with a museum in the basement and a gushing waterfall outside. I am studying genetics relentlessly, but there is a decorated Christmas tree and a gingerbread village, all lit up and keeping me going.
The waterfall outside the Bacon Free Library
Pet World. It is the night before some big exam, and we are at the local pet store. The best part about this is that they have rescue cats for adoption and you can play with them through the bars of their enclosure. There is a blue macaw in the back, and when we repeat words off her “Things Blue Says” list, she talks back to us. I still visit her frequently, and that first finals moment was the most vocal she’s ever been.
Pet World kitties!
I’m not saying every moment is like this, but these are the ones I remember most. I’ll keep that in mind in the coming craziness.
Ever lovely yours,
Eleanor