Midterms

Over 20 years ago I was in college and this time of year, the week of Thanksgiving, was always full of late-night studying for midterms exams. It was frustrating to be preparing for family gatherings and yet not really able to enjoy them because I was constantly thinking about studying for another exam. If I wasn’t studying for an exam I was writing a paper and sometimes that was worse. Long hours in the library looking for a certain book that 10 other students had already checked out. Writing and rewriting rough drafts and hoping that I had enough information and the right amount of quotes from the experts in the field to satisfy my professors.

Most of the students I went to school with were late-night partiers and so the day of midterm exams would be an interesting mix of those who were confident that they had studied long enough and hard enough, and those who had dark circles under eyes because they stayed up late too many nights in a row drinking when they should have been studying. I can attest that if I did have dark circles under my eyes it wasn’t because I was up late drinking.

I don’t want to go back to those days — ever. It was hard work and I’m glad I went through it and I’m glad it’s over.