Abigail Chaff

The end of the semester brings with it a lot of stress. Finals have to be studied for and papers need to be written. Even the start of planning
for next semester can be exhausting. This semester isn’t even over, but you already have to plan out the classes you are going to take in
the fall.

Getting halfway through the year at the end of fall semester can be hard enough when Christmas presents and a whole month off are on the horizon. But that has nothing on the allure of sunshine and happiness the end of spring semester brings.

How can anyone focus – let alone study – for any course when the days are getting longer and the temperatures are rising? I am one of those weird winter people. I actually do enjoy winter and the whole holiday season. But even I can’t deny that when those warm days hit the absolute last thing I want to do is sit inside and take notes on a lecture.

Now by the time it actually gets warm, especially in Ohio, there really is only about a month left of school. How hard could a few weeks be when you have a few months of summer break ahead of you? Those last few weeks are the most grueling of them all.

The last few weeks are usually the most important and the most content heavy. A lot of professors see the clock running out and are pushing
to get all the topics they wanted to get covered. And by the final date, you really aren’t learning anything anymore.

This is the time when all of your final projects come together. For many unfortunate souls, there is the dreaded “group project.” Why any professors punish their students with this kind of assignment is beyond me.

I know they think they are allowing us to break up the work, but all it does is create one giant headache. Here’s an idea: Set up an assignment that a student can actually learn from by being able to accomplish all aspects of it.

Why can’t the end of the semester just kind of fade out into summer? Why can’t the work load get easier until there are just free days?

I think it is amazing how hard it is to convince professors to have class outside. When it is a lovely day and the sun is shining, why not take advantage of our lovely campus and move class outdoors?

Shout out to Dr. Chura for taking my class outside a few semesters back to read Whitman. The best way to appreciate Whitman is, of course, while appreciating nature; but the simple fact that a professor realized that and saw that the great outdoors is a better learning atmosphere than a stuffy classroom on a summer afternoon was refreshing.

Try not to slack off in studying and try to stay focused through the last few weeks of the semester. You will have plenty of sunny days to appreciate in the next months to come. In the long run it will definitely pay to get good grades on your finals. Your suffering is not in vain.