We’ve reached the point in the semester in which life-contemplation is a near constant activity. Between the caffeine and endless hours spent in the library wishing that we could feel the sunshine on our faces, midterms week has caused a lot of student reflection.
In the end, all that we can hope is that all of this will be worth it. That when we clear the graduation walk, we have something to show for all of these hours upon hours learning material that will most likely be flushed immediately following an exam that we were ill-prepared for, regardless of all of our hours hunched in front of a textbook. That validation comes in the form of a flimsy piece of paper that we may or may not be able to hang on the wall of an office that we may or may not have.
Ad
And then, to add insult to injury, we pay thousands upon thousands of dollars for this privilege. We live on a diet largely consisting of Ramen and black coffee so that we can sit in classes and diligently take notes, in the hopes that at the end of it all, we can have some sort of advantage.
This week is a struggle, we understand that. But let’s focus on the light at the end of the tunnel: once this week is over, we have a week off. And at the end of our time in academia, we can hopefully have an actual career that we are proud of, and all of these contemplative hours will amount to something.
