My current status: sitting in my bed, wearing sweatpants and a baggy shirt with the remanence of a late-night Wendy’s rug scattered around me. The room looks like a bomb has gone off, my clothes, books, and old assignments strewn across the room. There’s a pile of dishes accumulating around the sink, the bottom of the stack dating back to last week. As I roll over to grab my laptop to write this article (which is now two days late and counting) I hear a chip bag crinkle under my feet…how did it get there? I have no idea.
Anyone that knows me is used to walking into the room and seeing my bed neatly made, the corners of the blanket crisply tucked under the mattress. The floor is clear of debris, and clothes and dishes are put away in their rightful place. You may be wondering, what happened? How did you go from perfection to utter disaster? Two words: finals season.
The first twenty-page paper was due on Friday at noon. I embarked on a journey that consisted of many sleepless nights, two trips to Waffle House, and about four gallons of coffee. Handing the paper in was a blessing and a curse, however. Upon sliding the obscenely large paper under my professor’s office door, I realized it was time for round two.
My SECOND twenty-page paper was due on Monday. Guess how many pages I had written? Zero. I had zero pages and three days to write a paper that would ultimately determine my final grade in the class. I basically lived in our local coffee shop, furiously clicking away at my laptop, a look of crazed daze and confusion in my eyes. Handing in that second paper came with a sweet wave of relief, as well as the realization that I had just written forty pages in the span of ten days. I officially felt like a college student.
I’m currently in that blissful stage where my papers are behind me but the finals are still to come. Should I be studying for bio and philosophy? Definitely. Am I much happier completely horizontal on my bed binge-watching Narcos? Heck yeah. I’ll worry about the finals (and the dirty dishes, and messy room, and everything else) another day.