So here goes. First thing we get to school, no biggie, just another school year, except you have to cook and clean and walk everywhere and shop for groceries. With that said, the schedule is rigorous but then its not, kind of like if I'm not studying then I'm in class, or I'm at the girls' dorm with my favorite chill time friends (we drop beach volleyballs filled with water from balconies...yeah). So it's kind of a super busy but not kind of place. With classes, most of the time the bell rings and suddenly my hand is tracing letters across the pages of a notebook so fast I have to strategically plan to flip the page sometime soon. There's that much material, and it seems like it could all be on the tests. So I go through about a month of that, solid. I'm feeling pretty good about it all, confused on a few things, but overall not too worried about anything coursework wise, except the related possibility of getting carpal tunnel syndrome from writing notes.
Well then they tell me that we have a test on the last month of firehose-to-mouth style learning and they may just modify the things we've learned so it's not straight regurgitation (understandably, this is college, people). It's called a midterm and involves studying like you're taking an AP exam and usually it counts for 10% to 25% of the semester's grade, so failure is not an option. There aren't really any tests in between except the odd quizzes online (kind of a joke for the most part - open book:)) so there isn't really an opportunity to cement the material as you go. Review starts and you wonder when you ever heard the professor say things like Lockean liberty, but there it is in your notes, so you commit it to memory post haste.
The day comes (really they give you a range of days, with the last two being "late days" with a fee involved but no other penalty) and you feel nervous enough to stick to the ceiling like Spiderman if a loud noise or two disrupts your normal schedule. Then you get to the testing center - purgatory of college life, except that they say more prayers are uttered there than in any other building on campus - where a sight like this greets you:
Fun right? And that's just to get into the building. Somewhere between 10 minutes and an hour later, you get to the front of the line, where a too-cheery-for-this-place person gives you your test and wishes you luck. Next, you get the option of going upstairs where they play classical music, or packing sardine style into the rows upon rows of desks with every other unfortunate student who finally ran out of study time. You take your test - totaling anywhere between an hour and three hours - and leave feeling drained. Then you get to go home and make dinner.
College is the best though really. I love it here, and the midterms seem like just a trial that confirms that I am supposed to be here more than anything. People in line are all sympathetic and a few even try to make light of the situation. 3 midterms down, 2 to go :D
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