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Choosing Your Procrastination Tools Wisely or Why Kerry Washington is Responsible for This Theology Grade

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Katherine Dudas
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar AnnaLee Rice
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Notre Dame chapter.

When presented with a compact week of stress and life-or-death grade opportunities, I have noticed that I lean towards certain type of masochism.

 

Scandal. I’ve been watching a lot of ABC’s Scandal. I just started the series last week so I know more about what’s going on with their fake government than our own (fake?) government.  Last week, this was a wonderfully harmless indulgence. But this week, the avoidance of midterm studying has made me more emotionally invested in the dramatic and sad storylines than could ever be considered necessary or appropriate.  In order to procrastinate on a more committed level, my brain has actually formed a deeper attachment with the show that it normally would for the sole purpose of preventing me from studying Theology.  Yeah. And I thought its only job was to prevent me from eating too many purple jolly ranchers.

 

For example (Warning: There are no spoilers in the following examples):

 

Katherine watching Scandal not in Midterm week: Oh shoot, I really liked that character. Sucked he was killed.

Katherine watching Scandal in Midterm week: WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR?

 

Katherine watching Scandal not in Midterm week: Hm, what an interesting plot twist.

Katherine watching Scandal in Midterm week: WHY DO YOU PLAY WITH MY EMOTIONS LIKE THEY’RE NOTHING?

 

Katherine watching Scandal not in Midterm week: Oh, the credits. That concludes this episode.

Katherine watching Scandal in Midterm week: (sobs)

 

Such instances can be construed as unhealthy. Yet in the moment, I chalk it up to an impeccable sense of priorities.  I’m sorry, Kerry Washington’s friends’ lives are hanging in the balance and I’m expected to memorize poorly constructed notes written by a girl addicted to purple jolly ranchers? No sir, I have something I like to call “principles” and that my mom likes to call “I should never have let you watch that much TV when you were younger.” 

 

I know there are more of you like me out there.  I see the crumbs of white cheddar cheez-its leading up to your televisions and computers that don the beautiful crimson of Netflix. I know that you also are risking your emotional health to stall writing that philosophy paper. I know what you—nope. This is sounding too stalker. I’m trying to relate and it’s coming off as stalker.  My point is, I know where you live.

 

As we near the close of this midterm week, I encourage all of you to try to turn off the Netflix but not to help you get a better grade.  No, I would never try to help you with that. (Especially if you’re a math major. You’re welcome.) Turn off Netflix because no matter how appealing it is, forming deep emotional attachments to fictional characters three hours before a presentation will only end in you standing in your doorway still watching and not going to the presentation. Instead, procrastinate in healthier ways, like doing crossword puzzles or trying to fix the section vacuum. 

To be clear, that’s the point of this article.  Definitely procrastinate. Just maybe watch New Girl instead. You know, something light. 

 

Photo: 1

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Katherine is a junior/senior, graduating a year early.  She is a Film, Television and Theatre major with a performance concentration. Active in the theatre community on campus, she has appeared in 8 theatrical performances and is a producer for a student theatre group. She is also an aspiring playwright; an original play she co-wrote is premiering at Notre Dame in the spring. She loves effective air fresheners and putting her Spotify account on private sessions.
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AnnaLee Rice

Notre Dame

AnnaLee Rice is a senior at the University of Notre Dame with a double major in Economics and Political Science and a minor in PPE. In addition to being the HCND Campus Correspondent, she is editor-in-chief of the undergraduate philosophy research journal, a research assistant for the Varieties of Democracy project, and a campus tour guide.  She believes in democracy and Essie nailpolish but distrusts pumpkin spice lattes because they are gross.