By Aileen O’Leary
Despite being given three weeks to complete my midterms, I left all my assignments to the last minute as per usual. It can be stressful for any student. Whether you’ve been to every lecture, or like many you’ve missed a few and are trying to catch up as soon as you see a midterm drop box on Blackboard. I should say this: I do not condone leaving all your assignments until the last minute like I have. It is not a good idea and will leave you with an alarming amount of stress and worry.
However, college is all about new experiences so don’t spend too much time worrying about assignments or your grade average. Go out, meet new people, and make memories that you’ll laugh about when you’re old. Before you know it, you’ll be celebrating your last few weeks in college and believe me, it absolutely flies by. No one tells you the last year is the one that goes by the quickest.
Between RAG Week, assignments, and more it feels like I haven’t slept in a solid month. Somehow February is over, and January felt like it was 72 days long. Once midterms are over, I’ll be able to sleep easy. This semester is crucial for final years, whether you’re aiming for a 1.1 or just looking to pass, this is crunch time.
We’ve all had one or two breakdowns when it comes to college, whether you’re holding back tears in the library trying to finish that 5,000 word assignment. As I sit here writing this week’s installment I have about 20 tabs open on my laptop, between Blackboard slides, final year diaries, essays, presentations and assignments. There will always be enough time to get it done. Panicking won’t solve anything!
If you must sacrifice a few nights sleep, it’s worth it, because handing that assignment in on time is the greatest relief in college. It’s better to submit it on time than two weeks late because you will be penalised. So, push yourself, work hard, make the most of the time that’s left, because one day there will be no more assignments, no more deadlines, no more essays or projects and you’ll be leaving college and going out into the big bad world.
Knowing that these are the last dozen of assignments I’ve done over the years, it feels like the clock has started counting down on my days here. Before I know it, I’ll leave my last lecture, begin studying for my final exams and then I’ll be leaving Galway for the last time. It feels like I’ve only just settled into college life, that’s how life works I guess, you finally start to settle in and suddenly you’re being pulled in another direction.
Knowing how important these next few weeks will be, sleep is the least of my concerns. I know I want to make the most of every second I’m here. This is it, there is no turning back now, we’ve got our degrees in the bag, all we need to do now is get through one last semester.
To my fellow final years, see you at the finish line!
Check back in our next issue for the next installment of the final year diaries, exclusively for SIN.
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