I am now several days (and two finals) closer to break! Just about 48 hours left on campus and I am beyond ready to go home! So far, finals week has been super boring for me, since I only have two and they're spread out, so one was this morning and one is Thursday afternoon. Stupid schedule, I know, so that's why I'm bored out of my mind and ready to escape.
The title of this post seems kinda sad in a way, but trust me, it really isn't. It's just that in the past few days, there have been some good things mixed in with some not-so-good things, so I thought I'd recap them with you and spare you more finals talk.
Bitter: Getting an incidence report for marijuana smell (which I have never used, BTW)
Sweet: Signing a lease for an apartment for next year
Yeah, so I woke up Friday morning to a blue card slipped under my door that said someone had smelled pot coming from my room. Little did I know that half the hall got the exact same warning because the RA couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. I talked with her and obviously she knew I didn't do it, but I was basically freaking out all morning and wondering why it happened to me, when I wouldn't dream of doing drugs ever.
Bitter: Finding out I got a C on the stats final that my dad helped me with
Sweet: Getting a 99% on my newswriting final
Obviously, math is not my strong point, but this stats class was a requirement. My parents basically just said as long as I pass the class, I'm fine. I was kinda hoping to pull off a low B, but with this awful final score, I guess that won't be happening. I am really happy I got such a high score on my newswriting final, though!
Bitter: Having to come back to campus after a long weekend
Sweet: Getting to go home again in 2 days
Coming back to school after a weekend is always a let-down for me, but even more so after spending Friday evening through Monday afternoon at home, which is the longest ever! Plus it's so close to break that I almost felt like I was on break already, so it was a rude awakening to come back. But I'm so close to break, I can almost taste it!
Bitter: Still having one final (and packing, and cleaning, and...) ahead of me
Sweet: Being done with three finals,a project and an interview
Despite how much I'm looking forward to break, I was also dreading this week. Four long days of finals and an interview. But now I've just got one more final left, along with some last-minute things which aren't a huge deal. I'm just so ready to be home!
What's been bitter/sweet in your life lately?
Does anyone here like group projects? I thought not. You might think it's kinda fun to collaborate with others, but once you're knee-deep in the project, you probably hate it at least a little bit.
Some group members are total slackers. Or they just try to dominate the entire project, and think anything you say is useless. Trying to coordinate meeting times with everyone can be a nightmare and more likely than not, by the time the project is due, at least a few people totally despise each other.
I was assigned a group project in my PR class back towards the end of October. At first, it seemed cool and not too stressful. I had gotten to pick my group members, and they were all girls I talked to in class every day. So we'd get along great, right? Not exactly. Once it came time to start meeting and working on the project, some snags came up on my end. They always wanted to meet at night--sometimes I'd have work right before and by the time I'd get back home, I was tired and hungry and had to work on homework, so nights were out of the question. Also, I have no car, so I was not about to haul my butt across campus in the dark and cold. I met with them once on a Sunday afternoon, but we didn't get much done. I've noticed that they claim that they've gotten a lot done at meetings, but obviously they weren't the ones I've been to. I've been to 3 (or 4 ish) so far and they've all devolved into just sitting around and not doing anything.
So why not do work outside of the meetings? Sounds fine to me, that way I'm not wasting my own time. But the group member claimed there wasn't much to do outside of meetings, and she passive-aggressively called out some members of the group for not always attending meetings. As far as I know, only 2 of the 6 of us have attended every meeting, so I'm not alone in my "ditching".
I met with them 2 more times, and felt like no one cared about my ideas. At this point, it's the end of the semester and I'm just done. So if they're not gonna listen to me, fine, I won't share any ideas. I dreaded going to the meetings, but I did anyway so no one could dock me points. Truth is, I feel like they're going to anyways. I think they secretly hate me and my partner, the girl I worked a lot with. We've both not been able to go to meetings, and we haven't done quite as much work as some of them, but only because our assigned part was pretty vague and hard to research. So...not our faults. Actually, I know they hate the other girl. They've said behind her back that she hasn't done any work, which isn't completely true. They've stuck up for my efforts somewhat, but who's to know what the heck they're saying about me when I'm not there? Girls can be so bitchy sometimes.
Okay but here's the thing--one (or really more like 2 or 3) group members have kinda taken control of the whole thing. I feel like 2 in particular are really anal, and don't want other people "screwing" them up. Fine, but then don't blame us if we aren't as big a part of the project. Plus, how about you actually listen to what other people have to say. Especially regarding meeting times. 6 members is a fairly large group--chances are, not everyone will be able to meet every time. I've tried saying I can't meet at night, but no one cares, and they still hate me for not making the meetings. I know everyone has a different class schedule, but cut people some slack. And, don't waste their time when they do go to the meeting. Sure, I love laughing about a funny story or swapping juicy gossip, but not when I took time out of my schedule to meet for some project. Save that for later.
Basically, I cannot wait for this semester to be over! Our presentation was today, and it went pretty well, but sadly, that's not the end of it (I wish). We might have to meet one more time to finalize the paper, because that's not due for a week. Oh gosh, just kill me now! Not really, but I'm so over working with these people. Not to mention, I'm so done with school in general and I'm kinda swamped this week. So if we don't meet in the morning or afternoon...well, tough luck for them, because I'm not meeting again at night just to regret wasting all that time. And if my grade suffers a little (because the peer evals are only one small part), then whatever. I've done well in the class so far, and I'm just done with trying to please people I'll probably never see again.
How about you--what do you think of group projects?
It's been 2011 for exactly a week now, and so far, it's been pretty good. Mostly uneventful, but that's always good, better than dealing with tough stuff for sure. I had a doctor's appointment earlier this week that I was dreading but it actually went well. The two shots hurt my arm for two days, though. I've played a lot of board games with my family. I went to lunch with my mom yesterday and shopping while my little sis was in school (her second day back) and I got my Starbucks fix a few days ago. So all's been well.
Except for a few regrets I have looking back at the past few weeks. I've been off for Christmas break for three weeks, with one more left :( I am really dreading going back, for one main reason: my roomie. All I know is I need out of that situation, and fast. I'm not sure I can survive 17 more weeks with her. If I had a single room, or a great roommate (or one who was never there), I think I could cope.
I regret not always cooperating with my family. I regret the petty fights with my sister. I regret not taking enough pictures on special events (Christmas, New Years, etc.) I regret not sledding as much as I could (but it's snowing again this weekend, so...). I regret not being as appreciative as I could be. I regret not seizing the moment. I regret saying "I'm bored". I regret taking the first part of my break for granted. I regret spending a lot of time on the computer. Most of all, I regret that time always flies when you're having fun--my break just flew by, and I wish I would have taken the time to slow down and appreciate even the boring moments. I'm not gonna get another long break with my family until spring break in 10 weeks.
I find myself wishing it was Christmas (can you believe it was only 2 weeks ago?) or New Years. But I know I can't turn back time. I'm making a promise to spend the rest of my break in a constructive way, so I won't have any more regrets.
Christmas break in college is way different than Christmas break in high school. Sure, both come after a hellish week of finals (trust me, the stress level is wayyyyy higher in college, though in many cases it shouldn't be--my exams this year were actually pretty easy) but college Christmas break lasts for about a month, while the high school version is typically about 2 or so weeks. But there are many more differences that I've already realized only 6 days into break.
- You actually want to do chores. A year ago, I complained about having to load and unload the dishwasher, fold towels and clean my bathroom. Now I'm more than happy to do them, because it means that I'm home, in a place where I actually have my own bathroom (that's about the same size as my side of my dorm, sadly) and real dishes.
- I appreciate family time a lot more. I've always been close with my family, which I'm extremely grateful for. But now that I only see them once or twice a month on weekends, I'm really thankful to have an entire month to spend with them!
- Real food. Sure, the dining hall can be okay, but day after day, not so much. At home, you mostly get something different every single day (or not, if you're a creature of habit). Either way, it's much better than college food.
- You can actually cook if you want to. I absolutely love to cook, and I've missed using the stove and the oven while I've been away. Microwaves are convenient and time-saving but nothing beats cooking actual food. Today I made chocolate-peppermint pancakes for my family and I've made some baked goods, too. It makes me feel good to see my family enjoy the things I've cooked.
- A much bigger closet. I don't know about you, but I've got a lot of clothes. My dorm closet is usually packed to the gills, while my walk-in-closet at home is very spacious, not to mention a good place to get dressed if I want to. I know most people don't necessarily have such a huge closet, but it's probably bigger than the one in your dorm or apartment.
- Being far away from school. The weekends I spend on campus are typically very boring. A lot of people leave on the weekends (myself included, sometimes) and there isn't much to do when you don't have a car. Even if I have no homework, I can't get away from the school atmosphere, because being in college basically means you live at school. At home, I'm over 100 miles away from school, and I haven't thought about it much (except for grades, of course). A boring weekend here is much better than a boring weekend on campus.
What are your favorite things about Christmas break?
I feel very accomplished--I'm 80% done with my finals, with one more tomorrow. But the biggest news is that I'm finally over the hurdle of today: three finals in a row! Everyone I told thought it was crazy (so did I) but I did a lot of studying, a lot of praying and I got through it.
All three tests were timed for 2 hours...more than enough time to finish them. The first one (wildlife ecology, the one I was freaking out about the most) I finished in 45 minutes, the next one (20th century fiction) I finished in 55 minutes and the last one (math) I finished in an hour.
In between tests, you'd find me at the library, feverishly studying up for the next test. Not that I hadn't studied earlier, I just needed a refresher right before the test. I'm hoping it paid off. The tests didn't seem ridiculously hard like I thought they'd be, so that was a nice surprise.
Now I've got one left--and it's at 9 am! Yep, that means I gotta haul my butt out of bed at 7 in the morning...yikes! Luckily, it's just one test, one I'm hoping (and thinking) I'll do well on. It's my media in society final, and since it's a requirement for my major, I really hope I can pull it off. I like the material and the class, so that should be a good sign for my future success. But I'm not gonna expect anything, because my finals today sure did surprise me (in a good way, though).
Once that's over...I'm going home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a month! There are so many things I want to do, including just spending time with my family and I hope Christmas break will be full of good memories.
Wish me luck on my last exam...and packing!
I'm trying to look at this situation with the "glass-half-full" mindset. Yes, I still have 4 more finals to go until I'm done. Yes, I did take the easiest one today, leaving all the hard ones for Thursday. But I have officially finished one college final. So I'm proud of myself, even though most of my friends on my floor have already taken at least 2 and are leaving on Wednesday or early Thursday. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here til Friday morning, because of one exam that has a common time. There are two large sections of the class, and to make things easier, the professors decided to hold them both at a special time, which happens to be Friday, the day that most people have no exams onand get to be home or are on their way there. Lucky me!
I'm trying to do as much as possible before then so I can leave ASAP. Who wouldn't want to, anyway? I've packed up as much as I can (mostly food, pjs, socks and camis) and I'm just anxious for Thursday to get here. Of course, I'm dreading it because I have 3 finals in a row, but I think I'm (almost) ready for them. Plus, that way, the day should just fly by and then I'll have one last exam bright-and-early Friday and then...I'm home! Of course, that's after a 2 1/2 hour drive, but at least I'll be spending it with my mom and looking forward to everything that Christmas break will bring. I. CAN'T. WAIT!
Tomorrow's a study-my-butt-off day, one last chance to make sure I'm totally prepped for my math, wildlife ecology and 20th century fiction finals. It'll hopefully be a productive day.
I'm more than ready to go home...just gotta get through these last 4 finals!
5 days. Yep, 5 days left before I'm outta here! I can't believe the moment I've been waiting for pretty much all semester is (almost) here. In a way, it's bittersweet, but it's more like "OMG, I can't WAIT!" Can you tell I'm excited?
Of course, all my dreaded finals are ahead of me. Two should be no problem (but I really shouldn't expect that I'll get A's or I probably won't), one could go either way depending on the questions (the format on this one is the same as the midterm, and I got a 92% on that, but the questions on the final could be harder) and two are...well, let's just say I'm not looking forward to them. At all. But hey, in five days, they'll all be over and I'll have a month of break to look forward to! I'm trying to look to the near future and avoid freaking out because I'm not totally prepared yet.
I've got one study guide totally written up. It's taken me several chunks of time since Thursday, but it's totally done. I've got study sessions planned for Monday and Wednesday in the library, which should be a productive time, considering I'm not lugging my laptop with me (I get a little distracted by the internet, namely Facebook and, of course, blogging). I've only got three days where I have finals, one that's jam-packed with three in a row (!) but at least I'll get them out of the way. And that means I have two study days during the week to let off some stress. I'm gonna grab lunch at the student center on those days so I can avoid the dorm (mostly because my roomie will probably be in there all day...vent time: I really hate how she's in there during the day when I want a little privacy and 'me time' but then heads out late at night and doesn't come back til after I'm asleep, messing up my sleep schedule :\) for most of the day. Thursday, I'll be gone from like 12:30 til 8 so that should be good, even though most of that time will be spent taking finals. And Friday, I'm not really counting as a day because I have one final at 9 am (yikes!) but it'll be over by 11, so I can leave soon after, once I'm done with check-out. Which will be another long, boring process. Why can't this week just be over?
Well, I'll update you throughout the week (if I have time, of course) to tell you about how my first college finals week is going. Until then, I'll be studying my tail off!
1 week left of classes. 5 days left of my first semester of college. And then finals. How final is that?!
I've gotta tell you, this semester has gone by pretty fast. Of course, I say that now, looking back. I'm pretty sure back in August, I was both dreading and looking forward to school starting. On the one hand, who wants to go back to a schedule, to having to actually do something, after summer? But I was pretty ready to start college, to start a new experience. Boy, it's been an experience. Now I'm eagerly anticipating the end of this semester, so I can go back home (to a new house, no less), spend some much-needed time with my family (I've been missing them so much, especially since Christmas is right around the corner) and just chill. I haven't had tons of time to just relax, take it all in, and forget about all the worries that school brings. It doesn't help that the weekends, when I don't have much to do, have recently been spent on campus, so I can't really escape it. My Christmas break is a month long (a month--that's like twice as long as in high school!) so it really should give me the mind-clearing time I need. Only 11 days left, and I can finally leave!
But before I can do that, I've got to get through this last week of classes and of course, the hated final exams. I can already feel the stress building! Maybe it's because none of my professors have posted their finals study guide (um, get on that!) or maybe it's finally hitting me that it's not Thanksgiving break anymore and if I want to get out of here in one piece, I've gotta haul my way through five final exams, two of which are cumulative. Gulp!
So what's a stressed out girl to do? Well, caffeinate, for starters. Since Thursday, I have not gone a day without a coffee drink, be it a frappuccino from Starbucks (the caramel light frap with 1 pump gingerbread syrup--yep, I invented it and it's delish) or mixing up a cup of instant Starbucks Via in my room. I've gotta tell you, though, a Vanilla Via mixed with half a cup of chocolate peppermint soymilk really helps me push through my day. So am I addicted? Talk to me in a week! No, seriously, though, a lot of college students rely on coffee to help them get through finals and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be one of them.
Also, I'm trying to celebrate the season as much as I possibly can. I have a mini Christmas tree, a cute holiday tee my mom bought me from Hollister and I created a playlist of great Christmas songs on Pandora (one of my new addictions). Is it the same as coming home after school to see the big tree all lit up in the living room and watching cheesy holiday specials with my family? No, definitely not, but I had to compromise. It's not all bad, really, and it just makes me that much more excited to get home in less than 2 weeks and actually start celebrating.
I'm hoping all these little things help me survive this boring week of classes and the tough week of finals ahead of me. Oh, not to mention, actually studying :)
I've put off writing about the roommate for so long, but I figured it's time to get it out there: I'm not best friends with my roomie. Many college articles in magazines and online will try to convince you that you'll become besties and want to hang out together all the time and what not, but the sad truth is that you probably won't. I sure didn't.
Let's just say that me and my R (short for roommate, of course) have a lot of differences. Among the most major of them are 1) I like to turn in around 11 pm on school nights, so I can get at least 9 hours of sleep; R prefers going to bed at the ripe time of 1. I'm talking a.m. So many nights I don't get to go to sleep until she finally shuts off her computer and crawls into bed. 2) In addition to staying up way too late watching stupid YouTube videos (umm, yeah, and that includes weird awkward under-the-breath laughing that I can still hear!), there are always a few nights a week where instead of returning from dinner, she goes off and does who-knows-what and doesn't return to the room until about 15 minutes after I've tried to go to sleep. So I wake up again, pissed off, and of course, then she has to go and take her 40 minute shower. So I don't get to sleep until at least 1. Thanks. 3) She is in the room a lot. Especially on weekends. Now that Christmas break is in a little less than 2 weeks (!), I'm forced to stay on campus, so I have to deal with her. If I want to spend any time in the room, I feel all awkward if I try to play music or watch TV. Oh, and she doesn't wake up til noon, so I try my best to stay quiet and put on my makeup in the dark (and it's not like I wake up ridiculously early--I usually get up around 9:30 or 10 on weekends). Can you say, unfair?
Basically, I'm getting more and more stressed out as finals loom (who wouldn't?) and this whole roommate issue is just making it worse. And these aren't the only problems I'm experiencing with the R--a weird smell coming from her side of the room, the fact that she won't talk to me unless I address her first (and even then she isn't really responsive or considerate) and more. Really, it's safe to say that my R and I just tolerate each other.
I do wish I had a good relationship with my R. Some of my friends from my hall have much better relationships with theirs, and I'm definitely jealous. I'd just love to have someone close by to confide in (my parents don't count, since they're too far away, but they are truly amazing), to trade fashion advice (since her sense of style is nonexistent, it would kinda be a one-way street) and just have a place I wouldn't mind coming back to. Because your dorm is kind of your home-away-from-home, but right now mine's a slowly crumbling dysfunctional family.
I'm not someone who could never get used to living in a small room, or being with someone I'm not related to for a long, long time--I really could, but in this situation, I can't. If I had a single room, or shared with a good friend, I really think I could stand the whole dorm room experience. Right now, I'm just trying to find the good things in every day, and even if they're small, I try to appreciate them. Because I need all the little things I can get.
One of the hardest days to go back to school is the day after Thanksgiving break. Of course, it's harder after Christmas break and also after summer vacation, but coming back after Thanksgiving is pretty difficult.
For me, the break was the first time since summer that I have been home for more than a weekend. I have been grateful for all the weekends I got to go home or see my family but having nine days with them was a true blessing. Among the many things I did over the break, here are just a few: going to an organic all-peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwich place (they have all kinds of different nut butters and jellies so it's never boring), getting my Starbucks fix twice, running some errands, watching Fantasia 2000, baking all kinds of Thanksgiving treats, game nights, getting yummy gelato and enjoying a Pei Wei dinner on my last night at home. Pretty much everything I did involved my family, and I'm so thankful to have such a great one.
Of course, that just makes it that much harder to go back to Fort Collins (2 1/2 hours away) and face school again. Really, who wants to go back to school when it already feels like the holiday season is in full swing? I'm refusing to listen to any music but Christmas music (on my iPod and streaming a station from back in the Springs that's been playing the stuff since Halloween!). I brought a mini Christmas tree back to my dorm that's all decked-out in ornaments that match my bedding. I have quite a few food items that are holiday-related, from the chocolate peppermint soy milk to an Iced Gingerbread Clif bar. There's a chill in the air, and despite the lack of snow on the ground, it still feels like winter. Basically, I'm just ready for it to be December 18, the first full day of my Christmas break. The best part is, it lasts exactly a month! So I'm extremely anxious for that, I'm ready for classes to be over and to finish my final exams. After my last two classes today, there are only 9 more school days, which doesn't seem like a lot, but if you've ever lived through those last few weeks before Christmas, you'll know the feeling.
So I'm counting down the days (and maybe the hours, too) until I can get out of the dorms, away from my roommate and go home. Because to me, it doesn't seem like the Christmas season til I'm spending it with my family.
