Do well in school.

Well, I got my grades back from the spring. I got two A’s, one A-, and one B+. I’m pretty happy about it; I wanted to come back and do some solid work after getting two C’s a year ago, and I did that. It was about capitalizing on the easy classes, and taking nothing for granted. I’m glad all my hard work paid off.

I’m in the middle of studying for Finals. Once it begins for me, it’ll end fast—I’ve got one on Thursday, two on Friday, and one on Saturday. (Yeah, I’d rather have the weekend off too, but maybe it’s a Jesuit sort of thing where they give exams on Saturdays).

And then it’s all over for me. But first I have to get through four exams in three days.

It’s pretty easy for me to get overwhelmed with things. But I try to put things in perspective. I study hard, and I put everything on the line during the exam, and I don’t second guess myself after that. I just give things my best shot, and that’s all you can hope for in the end.

I just turned in my environmental sociology paper over email, about an hour before the deadline. I feel pretty good now, because it’s the last thing I had to turn in before Finals.

So I guess all roads have been cleared, and I’ve got nothing else until the End in a couple of weeks. At least I can stop agonizing over it. Whew!

Why is it that so many professors delight in throwing all their exams right before vacations? I’m facing two midterms this week—one on Thursday, and then one on Friday. The good news is that I think everybody is pretty much going through the same thing and its busy all around. But that doesn’t make it any easier.

It’s here that time becomes an enemy. Usually, a week will fly by as I get into the routine of things, but during test weeks, especially ones I don’t want to take, time seems to slow as every hour becomes important. Every day is one day closer to the exams.

It’s funny how we seem to fight so much for grades—which just amount to one letter printed on a transcript—one semester condensed onto one line and one letter grade. We do so much and receive so little.

I’m normally a good student, but last spring semester, my grades totally flattened me. Although I got four A-’s, I got a C in Genetics and a C+ in Comparative Animal Physiology. It really deflated me to see that happen, considering I was working so hard, and was very busy last semester.

On my last day of class, I had my Comparative Animal Physiology exam. After my exam, I got back one of my essays that I had handed in several weeks before. I left the exam room and sat down on one of nearby benches, relieved that everything was all over.

I got a 70, the equivalent of a C-, tanking everything, including the final I had just taken, and my grade for the semester. I felt so bad to be leaving school on such a down note (the following fall semester I took a leave of absence and went to Patagonia).

So I’ve come back this spring semester, trying to boost my grades up again. I’m only taking four classes this time, no labs or bio classes. I feel tired of school already, but hopefully I can come back strong.