Midterms and Spring Break

It’s midterm time here at Susquehanna which means it’s almost time for Spring Break! I’m so excited to be going home on Friday. Unfortunately, there are some things I have to finish up before then.

My main task to complete before break is my Aesthetics and Interpretation midterm. This was a take-home midterm. I have to write 2 essays, roughly 2 pages each, which didn’t sound too difficult until my professor estimated it would take four to six hours. I really need to start on these essays tonight. I’ve blocked out two hours today to work on them. I’ll have to see how far that gets me!

I also have some more work to do for study abroad. As I mentioned before, I’m already approved by Susquehanna, but I have stuff to do for the program provider, IFSA Butler. I need to do a few paragraphs about myself and an academic statement, among other things, and get them sent out to Butler as soon as I can. I also have to make some choices on my housing preference form for where I’d like to live that semester. At least I have my ideal courses selected—Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Britain and Ireland, Writing the North: the Literature of the Troubles, and From the Vote to the Pill: Twentieth Century Women’s Writing. This would give me the elective credits I need for my Creative Writing major, as well as one religion elective for my Religion major.

For my Poetry course, I need to turn in three revised poems, but fortunately, the due date for that was pushed back to Monday so I will have some time to work on them at home, if need be.

At least I have one midterm done. Today I took my Intro to Asian Religions mid-term exam which included multiple choice, true or false, short answer questions, and an essay. I took up all the allotted exam time (I was jotting down my last sentence with 90 seconds to spare), but I feel confident about how I did.

I do not have many plans yet for Spring Break, though I certainly want to get in some sleep and relaxation.  A lot of friends from high school seem to have overlapping spring breaks this year so I’m planning on hanging out with them for sure! I am also going to be meeting with a historical society in Harrisburg to discuss a summer internship possibility in their archives. I also have a dentist appointment which is decidedly less exciting. No matter what my plans might be, I’m quite excited to be heading home Friday. 

Spring Break

In the world of television and movies, Spring Break equals hitting the beach with friends and going to wild parties and getting up to all sorts of college-aged shenanigans. In my world (and it seems like the world of most I’ve spoken to), Spring Break means getting to go home! It means relaxation and much watching of the television. It means getting together with friends. It means doing laundry because a massive amount of dirty clothing has accumulated in my dorm room closet. It means getting in a few volunteer hours towards my total for Alpha Phi Omega by going to the library where I volunteered all four years of high school. It means hopefully getting to go see my high school’s production of The Wizard of Oz. It means working on my literary journalism piece for Intro to Creative Nonfiction. It means sending in my application for housing next year. Two friends and I are both aiming for the Scholar’s House.

It also means I am halfway through my second semester of my freshman year of college, which I talked about in my previous post. It just sounds so kooky to me! I can’t believe I only have a quarter of the year left.

Even if I’m a bit freaked out by the quickness of this year, I have to admit how excited I am to go home. I’m very fortunate in that, unlike a lot of my friends, I can leave Thursday instead of Friday. My classes end at 4:05 Thursday, and both of my classes are cancelled the next day. It will also be awesome because my older brother will be picking me up and this is the first time he will get to see my dorm room in person. Also, I will be making him take me to Red Robin after he picks me up, which I’m currently craving as I type.

More so, I think this is a point in the semester where a lot of people, at least among my friends, are ready to escape from campus life for a bit. With midterms coming up, the task of figuring out rooming arrangements for next year, and a bunch of activities in full swing, the past few weeks have gotten a little rough. And though I love SU and am not and will never be the go-home-every-weekend kind of kid, I’m definitely ready, and definitely in need of, a stretch of time at home.

I only have to get through two more days, write a 6 to 8 page essay on 19th century romances (I have about 2 pages...procrastination!), and take a midterm in Applied Biblical Ethics tomorrow.  Not so bad in comparison to the schedules of many.  I'm almost free!