This morning, when I opened my eyes and looked out of my bedroom window, I groaned. The sky outside was a dark, puffy gray, and I could hear the pattering of raindrops on the roof above my head. I’m not particularly fond of the cold, but I deplore being cold and wet. Georgia is not a place that is typically known for harsh winters, but this one has been especially ruthless. However, I didn’t moan simply because it was rainy out and I was tired of trudging around campus bundled up, yet still freezing. Today, Monday March 17th, is the first Monday back from Spring Break for the University of Georgia. A week off full of beautiful weather, late nights, and no class, meant that I was extra unstoked to return to the grind. Especially considering the fact that I got absolutely zero work done over the holiday. Any of you soon to be first-gens might stop here and ask, “Wait, what? Schoolwork? Over Spring Break? That’s a joke, right?” I’ve got bad news, though, guys. It’s legit. Plenty of college students have assignments to complete over Spring Break, and for those who don’t, they often use the break as a chance to get ahead and/or play catch-up. The reason behind this is that, for many schools, Spring Break signals the beginning of the end. UGA, for example, now only has 6 weeks left in its semester. That means classes are about to start moving faster, the work load will come down to the wire, and students will, as always, procrastinate. Before the break started, I told myself that I would use the extra time to get ahead in my readings for certain classes. Then come essay time, I would be ready to write. Unfortunately, lucky fellow that I am, I got sick the last 3 days of the holiday; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Admittedly, I should have done some reading before then, but I visited home for a few days early in the week, and I was too busy gorging myself at my mother’s table to read. During the days that I was sick, I didn’t want to do anything but lay in bed and complain to my roommates, and even that got to be exhausting. The fact is, I didn’t get any reading done at all. When Sunday rolled around, and I was feeling mostly well, nothing was about to make me start reading. I wanted to be outside, I needed groceries, my friends were back in town, and heck, it was the last day of Spring Break. However, it’s not the end of the world. Two of my housemates informed me that they were “so behind” now, because they also hadn’t done anything over the break. This isn’t meant to be a disclaimer for procrastination. Instead, I simply want you all to know that when you do come to university, it’s okay to make plans to do work, and then it not happen. We find ways to finish strong. It’s college. It’s always going to be an uphill battle, from day one. Most of a semester is simply spent mentally preparing yourself for the occasional storm of assignments and tests. It’s okay to fail in your productivity; just make sure you succeed in the big picture.
