Midterms: Then and Now 

 

Inside the brain of John, the average Notre Dame student, during his midterm week and the week following:

Monday Night (Before first Midterm): Where did the time go? I had the entire weekend to study; yet somehow I only managed to make it through my notes from the first week. Why oh why did I watch an entire season of Family Guy in one day? Curse Netflix’s 6-second load time between episodes! Calm down, calm down. I just have to study all night, not go to sleep, and I will be able to at least get a C on this test. All-nighter, here we go.

Monday Night (During Spring Break): Why did I worry so much? That test was not bad at all. There were only three essay questions, and everyone else had just as much trouble as me. That all nighter? Big mistake. It’s the first day of spring break and I am sick as a dog from the lack of sleep. Besides, all I did that night was mess around on Facebook and look up “10 things to do if you fail out of college.”

Tuesday Night (Before Midterm): Oh no! I completely failed that exam today. I am staying in my room all day to study for my next one. Dinner time? Cheetos and Ramen are good study food, right? Can’t sacrifice the time to leave my room. Must study harder!

Tuesday Night (During Spring Break): Why did I eat Cheetos for dinner? Who in their right mind could think that was a healthy choice? I thought I promised myself to workout everyday in college and only eat green beans and kale. This wasn’t even my first midterm week!

Wednesday Night (Before Midterm): This is it. Tomorrow is Chemistry. The fate of my life, and more importantly, my career rests on this test. If I do not get at least a B, I will be shunned by society and forced to live in the wilderness. Onward, soldier!

Wednesday Night (During Spring Break): Chemistry was impossible, but guess what? People left the room crying so I don’t quite feel as bad. As long as everyone failed, things will be just fine. Besides, Chem is just an intro course anyways, and all the upperclassmen say it is designed to weed out people who don’t really want to major in science. I am sure I did fine.

Thursday night (Before Midterm): Last test tomorrow. It’s in that foreign language I didn’t want to take but my dad thought would be important for business relations. Hopefully, with a bit of bluster and some carefully placed adjectives, I can nail it.

Thursday night (During Spring Break): Nope. Winging it did not work at all. Oh well.

 

Declan Feeley is a freshman theology and finance double major whose interests include writing and investment theory. Declan can be contacted by email at dfeeley@nd.edu.