As finals week approaches, Notre Dame students take cover and make plans to wait out the storm

 

Over the weekend, students around campus were jolted awake by the sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning that swept through our normally sleepy abode.  Many students found themselves unable to sleep, as the loud bangs overpowered even the sounds of their roommate’s snoring.  I, for one, bothered by the constant flashes of light, hastily constructed a pillow fort around my bed in a futile attempt to block out the racket.

Yet many students began to wonder if this storm was not merely a phenomenon of nature, but rather an omen of things to come.  Deep down, each student began to suspect that a far bigger storm was brewing: the dreaded finals week.  These students knew that the storm of finals week was far greater and far more dangerous than any natural disaster.

In many ways, the students of Notre Dame prepare for finals in much of the same way that a family might prepare for an imminent tornado.  The week always begins with a barricading of oneself within a safe structure (normally the library).  A stockpiling of rations is made, with food and water set aside for later consumption.  Friends and loved ones are contacted, done with a desire to express a shared grief over the events to come.  Entertainment is often viewed even when further preparation would be wiser.  There are late nights spent worrying about events beyond one’s control, and various deities are often prayed to.

The events following either type of disaster, whether finals or of a tornado, also share an amusing symmetry.  Just as the weary family emerges, shell-shocked, from their underground shelter, so, too, do Notre Dame student emerge from finals.  Many appear as if they wish to fall flat on their faces.  One might expect there to be dancing or celebration, but the horrors of the tests are too fresh in their minds for any attempts at jubilation.

However, all is not lost.  Though the storm may signify terrifying events to come, even the worst storms do eventually produce a rainbow.  Finals week at Notre Dame is a rite of passage, a sacred journey that all students must undergo.  While some might argue that braving two such sacred journeys a year might be a sign of madness, to those people I reply, “This is Sparta!”

Declan Feeley has enjoyed his sophomore year as the Humor Guru, and looks forward to another year of occasional, unintentional humor at the Rover. He can be contacted by email at dfeeley@nd.edu.