I don’t know if it’s the post-holiday drag or the onset of quasi-winter, but something besides the generally felt lethargy of a new semester is at work right now. Not a single person I have spoken to since school started a few days ago is feeling optimistic about this semester, myself included. Surely all the teachers have not rallied together to decide to make this semester hellish for all of us students, so what is it that’s bringing us down?For me, my bad attitude is a result of poor planning. Last week I started my last semester of college. While I should have been quite literally skipping to class and doling out enthusiastic handshakes to my new professors and classmates, I found myself instead more downtrodden than ever, the kind of feeling I usually experience after an entire semester of miserably taxing work that has left me drained and lifeless. But no, I was only being handed my syllabi.
I planned poorly. I put off some of the pain-in-the-neck requirements until the bitter end, and now I am stuck with them, along with the last couple of upper-level classes in my major. It seems like I am not the only one who has dug my own grave.
Freshmen, some words of wisdom. You may tell yourself you don’t feel like taking public speaking now, but trust me, later on, when you are the only senior in your class, you will regret your decision. You will look around with a sneer, mumbling “Freshmen” under your breath as they giggle and carry on the way freshmen do.
Not that there is anything wrong with the carefree, invincible, I-can-do-anything freshman mentality. I remember it fondly. I am amazed, though, now that my college years are coming to a close, how much freshmen stand out. My first year here, I felt that I blended in, but I was sorely mistaken. Freshmen travel in packs, faces plastered with ear-to-ear smiles, being loud and carousing and staying out late. Although I’m not quite the crochety old woman I may sound like, I do take note of these things.
By now the newness has worn off. The freedom has worn off. The responsibility has set in, and the real world is creeping up behind us, breathing down our necks and tapping us on the shoulders. And even though many of us might not be quite ready to turn around and face that ugly monster, we’re now being forced. Graduation is right around the corner.
I think I can speak for many seniors when I say we feel so close to the end we just want to skip right past the work and walk straight across the stage to snatch those diplomas. I may not be ready to take on the real world yet myself, but knowing that it’s looming so closely makes me want to take it on right now.
I, for one, already have senioritis, and I’ve barely made a dent in the semester. I recall this happening my last semester of high school as well. I was consumed with an overwhelming feeling of do-nothingism for the last three or four months. In high school, though, that didn’t matter. I could afford to indulge in my do-nothingism because graduation was in the bag, my Honors cords already around my neck. Now, though, that’s certainly not the case.
Perhaps it’s simply mere coincidence that everyone I know is dreading this semester for its difficulty and business, but whatever the reason for our indifference or negativity, we need to find a way to kick it. Freshmen, continue to be blissful and free. It’s a lovely time. Sophomores and juniors, well, stick it out. And fellow seniors, let us take on this semester by putting our collective best foot forward and showing MSU what we’re made of. After all, we only have a few months left.