My Last Midterm Rush

The process of university that begins for me each September is unique with each new class, but yet, is also strangely familiar. The first month is pretty relaxed as exam dates, assignments and course material are finalized. I will start reading my material to ease myself into the topic of each new class, and dream of the last day of the semester almost four months away. It's funny how the completion date of the courses seem so distant in that first month.

As October rolls around, the midterm rush is suddenly on! Exams come up quickly and assignments that did not seem due for ages, are quickly becoming a reality. I dread the cramming and sleep deprivation that comes with midterm week. I wish I was one of those people who could say "enough is enough" and put down their books and go to bed early before an exam. Instead, I stay up until the morning hours forcing as much information into my head as possible, feeling the pressure of the impending doom. It is not uncommon for me to get three hours of sleep a night until the hellish week is over. My incessant need to work under pressure, combined with the uneasiness of not knowing what to expect as each professor structures their exams and expectations in a different way, leaves me winded by the end of the week.

As much as I dread the hard work of preparing for midterms, Friday afternoon brought with it a sense of accomplishment, as I felt I did reasonably well on all of my exams. I savoured the feeling over the entire weekend of doing absolutely nothing related to school work. Alas, Monday morning cooled my post midterm 'glow', as it brought with it the hard realities of midterm scores and the ever closer due dates of term paper assignments.

The thought that this is my last real semester of university before my APT placement and graduation in the spring keeps me working on!