Mid-Semester Blues

"Oh woe is the struggle of me, the 20-something college student!" he exclaims from his lounge chair, mocha chai tea resting comfortably at his side.

"None hath struggled as much as I have, certainly! O' horsemen of war, conquest, famine, and death, do not pay me mind! Fore I have been victimized by a fate much more cruel! A higher education!' he mourns from the safety of his upper middle class American home. 

Yeah I know, first world problems and whatever. But look, If I cant complain on my own blog, then where else am I supposed to do it? 

It's that point in the semester where I feel like I'm working 24/7 on assignments, handing in paper after project after paper after project... Then looking at the course calendar and seeing there's still several things to do in each and every class. 

It invites a feeling that I can't really describe. It's akin to heartbreak. Disappointment and maybe a little bit of anger? 

I liken it to working in retail. After hours of doing the same task over and over again, you look down the line and see an endless amount of shopping carts headed your way. 

However, instead of being paid to be an employee scanning items at checkout, you're paying thousands of dollars to do this school work! And if you don't pass that assignment, too bad! That money is gone! It's stressful, and although I've felt this way every semester, it just plain doesn't feel good. 

But I'm lucky enough to be in a major that doesn't often require tests. I mean, sure, we're taught how to administer tests, but that's not what I'm getting at.

I think my classmates would agree that we have much less finals and midterms than our peers in other majors. Certainly we have less tests being implemented as midterms. Usually those big end of year assessments come in the form of a project or essay instead, which I prefer. It might technically be more work, but it's better for me to put my heart into an assignment and walk away with a good grade rather than potentially crumble under the pressure of a test, choke and fail.

But still, these projects take time. I'm trying to balance my school work, my full time job (that I need to have to pay for school), my internship at Southwick, my Murder Mystery Party, The Plague™, my students work, exercising, and a healthy social life. 

And this is a minor thing, but I was reading a really good book before the semester began but now I have too much assigned reading to make the time for my book! I have a list of backlog books to read, and all these text books just jumped the line! Not fair!

Obviously some of these things take priority over others. But it's a lot of stress...

I need to go hike a mountain this weekend and... just like... sit on it for awhile. 

That'll make me feel better :)