About a week before school started, rounding out about three straight months of parental nagging and the same old summer routine, I was more than ready to get back to good old Fairfield University.
I could not have been happier moving my things into my new room, seeing all my old friends, and making new ones. Even going to Barone for dinner, the first night was nostalgic and almost enjoyable. But after the hype of being back and settling in wore off, reality hit and it was back to the worst component of college: work.
Doing schoolwork was one of those distant memories that has resurfaced like a bad, reoccurring dream. Over summer break, I think I had forgotten how stressful classes can be, or even how to write a decent paper. Freshmen, although you were told over and over again how hard college classes can be, and no matter how well disciplined your high school thought they made you, the shock of how difficult even your average “Intro to …” class was, is still probably traumatizing. Despite how much I would love to tell you that it will get easier as the weeks go on, I wouldn’t want to lie. I will tell you that you will one day become immune to the exhaustion that comes with pulling an all-nighter (a somewhat depressing silver lining).
As a sophomore, I was cocky enough to think that one year of college work under my belt would have made me a little more prepared, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I can easily say that sophomore year is much harder than I ever anticipated. I still find myself doing homework until about midnight every single weeknight, no matter how little I procrastinate, and it ceases to amaze me how people actually manage to go out Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and still get everything done they need to. And as much as I hate to admit it, the library has become my second home.
So as I sit writing this, I can’t help but wonder why we do it. Why do we return year after year when we know the workload is only going to get harder? Besides the fact that our parents would kill us if we dropped out, I realize it’s about the small things.
It’s that feeling you get after your last class on Friday afternoon when you know you have at least two days of absolute bliss coming up. How no matter how stressed out you are, or how much work you have, friends are right down the hall to make it a little better. It’s also about the big picture; the thought of that crazy, out of this world internship you could be getting junior year, or even the idea that you’re working so long and so hard to one day get the job of your dreams. With this in mind, we’ll stay out until two in the morning on a Wednesday night, and do everything we can to get to our 8 a.m. on time. So pack your bag and head on over to the library, because even thought it seems cruel and unusual, all of the work will eventually pay off.
Leave a Reply