Well, folks, this is it: classes are done, and finals are
upon us. Since finals in college are an entirely different business than finals
in high school, let me describe it for you. Picture the amount of stress you
felt right before taking the SAT. Now, extend that into a solid two-week
period, and add the dizzy-tired you feel when you’re jet-lagged, and the
pressure to impress professors that you seriously idolize. There you have my
life right now: 2 exams (Latin and Romantic Poetry), 4 papers
(Sociolinguistics, American Lit, Latin, and Cold War history), and a mock
conference (Cold War again). A struggle, I admit.
Now, this may sound rather dark (and, indeed, with it
getting dark at 4.30 in the afternoon and snowing, it is). But, Barnard isn’t
about to leave us out in the cold, literally or metaphorically. It’s really
remarkable the way the campus pulls together during finals; not only does it
show how dedicated the students are to their education, but it shows how
thoughtful and kind they are.
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, on the last day of the
reading period (i.e. the night before the first day of finals), Barnard serves
us all tons of food in the gym for “Midnight Breakfast.” It may start with
waffles and eggs, but it very quickly turns into a banana split-loud music-and-goofy
hysteria party. That’s tomorrow night.
But since the stress starts well before exams do, there are
a whole bunch of study breaks all this week: free coffee, various snacks,
“Stressbuster” back rubs, a capella performances. It’s really quite nice—and (in
terms of caffeine and chocolate) very much needed.
You may have noticed that I’m in an exceedingly good mood
for someone who is basically running into a brick wall over and over again—and
you’re right. I am! It’s because a student here (the artistic director of
Columbia University Ballet Ensemble, one of the student-run dance groups) just
gave a spontaneous ballet class for anyone who wanted to take it. And it was a
very good class indeed.
To me, this is what makes this school absolutely incredible.
We all go to class all day, spend hours upon hours in the library and behind
laptops and textbooks, and then we can drop everything to do something we all
love. Faculty and administrators are wonderful about doing everything they can
to help us out, but in the end, it’s often the talented and passionate
(sorry—so cliché, but so true!) students that make it happen.
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| Chloe Hawkey '16 |
And with that, it’s back to it: Rereading twenty Horace
poems and reading 200 pages of Moby Dick—I can do that in one night, right?
With all best, cheerful wishes for a not-too-stressful
pre-holiday season,
Chloe
Chloe Hawkey '16
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