Fifty-six days.
I don't think there will be a happier soul on campus after these next 56 days have passed.
You see, 56 days from now the date will be Dec. 20. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Dec. 20 is the first official day of Winter Break.
I think the problem with which I currently suffer is common among the student and even the teacher population: post-midterm stress disease.
I'll describe the symptoms, and if you think you've caught it, head over to the Medical Center immediately - if you think it's worth a $75 parking ticket, that is.
- First symptom: trouble with the midterm tests.
You find yourself the first few weeks of school actually organized, taking notes here and there, and seemingly doing well in most of your classes.
You sit down in the inQsit lab to take the midterm, confident after a few quality hours of studying the night before.
First question - well, you draw a blank, but you can always come back to it. Second question - same thing, so you try the 'reverse order' test-taking method I attempt every so often. So, last question: still nothing.
As usual, the midterm tests are full of subjective questions that even a multiple choice inQsit test and hours of studying couldn't cure. You're lucky and get a 57 percent - some of the studying actually pays off, and it's a grade that can be improved on to pass the class.
Complete class disorganization follows.
- Second symptom: Problems with Fall 'Break.'
Yeah, and what a break it is.
As I hang out with some of my buddies who get a week off from their respective schools during this period - even some of them who get Thursday and Friday off - I find that our Fall Break isn't enough time to get away for a while. That is the point of a break, isn't it?
The way I hear it, Ball State could either give us a two-day Fall Break and extend finals week to Saturday or keep things the way they are.
Why don't we just find a way to make it two days again without extending the finals - surely there's something that could be done?
For me, it would be nice to have one day where I don't even think about school. Thursday would be ideal for this. Then on Friday I could think about doing homework. On Saturday I would begin the homework and get distracted. And finally Sunday night/Monday morning, the homework would be finished.
- Third symptom: freezing nipples and sweaty butt disorder.
This is another annoyance of the fall in Indiana - it's too warm out for winter coats, but too chilly for hoodies. Wearing too many layers doesn't help because if it gets too hot out; you don't really want to lug around a coat or a sweatshirt. Wearing too few layers means if it gets too cold out, you're basically screwed.
So, the way I see it, you're either stuck with freezing nipples or a sweaty butt.
- Fourth symptom: the urge to throw your alarm clock out the window.
It's 6:59 a.m. and you've peacefully been asleep now for about two hours. It's Nov. 10 and you're still barely passing your 8 a.m. physics class.
A minute later, however, terror strikes in the form of your cell phone blasting your favorite Hanson or Spice Girls song (or whatever music you kids listen to these days).
The daily grind of getting up this early is more than annoying, and you decide to begin skipping classes every once in a while.
Unbeknownst to you, though, your attendance grades really do make a difference in most classes. It will now take a miracle to pass the physics class.
Obviously these are just a few of several examples of symptoms encountered with the post-midterm stress disease.
Fifty-six days from now, for one day, I'll be representing myself as Happy Saturday Guy.
Write to Andrew at adwalker@bsu.edu
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