It seems that with every semester there are two points where the sky seems to be falling. Everything is going wrong, and the length of your to-do list just filled up the last page of the 5-subject notebook that you bought from Kroger at the beginning of the semester. One of those points is now, two weeks after spring break, and the other is finals week.
But for me, this first wave of academic turmoil is more severe than ever before. Yesterday I looked through the various syllabi and mapped out everything I have to get done before the last week of school and final examinations overtake my existence. The list was quite severe with group projects, presentations, 10-page papers, online quizzes, book reviews and article critiques.
I could feel the oxygen in the room depleting as I looked at all I must get done and thought about how much time I actually had to do it. When you take out the time for mandatory activities like sleeping, eating, watching the second season of “This Is Us” and spending the time to maintain a steady social network of friends, at first glance it appears that the feat of crossing off every item on the to-do list is impossible.
It is only when you check the weather app on your phone and see that Johnson City is expecting 1-3 inches on snowfall accumulation by 8 a.m. that you see the heavens opening, and you can finally say to yourself, “Perhaps there is a way…”
However, such hopeful thoughts have been proven foolishness. I woke up Wednesday morning with no new notifications on my email. I checked the ETSU website and there were no advisories. I gave the university officials the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was so treacherous that they could not get out to check the severity of the roads, and thus their authority to call off school was delayed. So, after three snooze taps, I checked the school status once again and found that it was still the same.
I was forced to finally arise and make my way to the university in disappointment and slight depression. Who do I blame? The meteorologist. I mean, it is the 21st century,and technology is the best it has ever been before. So please Mr. Weatherman, for the good health of all college students on the verge of a breakdown, please do not forecast 1-3 inches when a mere dusting is all to be expected.
