Ilse and (Post-Break) Midterms

In theory, midterms after the break are great. After all, it means an extra week of studying before having to pretend you understand concepts everyone else seems to grasp effortlessly in order to keep your GPA on a healthy level. In practice, not so much. In fact, it seems to me that post-break midterms are far worse than pre-break midterms, as the break tends to mess with your study habits and the lack of class makes the active knowledge a bit less active. Nevertheless, the post-midterm feeling is almost as good as the post-end of terms feeling – relief that it's over, but also a bit of sadness that another signpost has been passed. Just the other day I spoke to some people who are now in their last semester and though of course there are exceptions, most expressed some sense of sadness when they mentioned that they are now going into the last half of their last semester at RA. I can only imagine how they feel. I mean, I imagine I'd be excited to start this whole new adventure of a Master's study or going out into the real world to work or travel (I must say, I am most jealous of those who plan to travel) but I'd also be really sad that my time at RA'd be over. On the other hand, I also spoke to a few first-semester students before the break and they seemed pretty nervous for their midterms. I remember that feeling, not knowing what the exams would look like, not knowing what'd be asked, scared that everyone else'd do far better, worried that the method of studying used throughout high school would suddenly no longer suffice... quite scary but also somewhat exciting, like a big mystery. I guess the post-midterm feeling is happiest in the first semester and saddest in the last.

For me, well, I'm glad they're over. I've had all sorts of exams this midterm; essay questions, short answer open questions, multiple choice, take-home exams, exams that need to be done on the computer, exams that need to be done with pen and paper... and then to think I've actually only had four. The only sort I didn't get this midterm was open book, which is fine as I don't really care for those. The searching for answers in the book always takes up too much time, making me nervous as I see the clock evilly ticking away time.

But anyway, let's put in that extra bit of effort necessary to make it through the last half of the semester. It's going to be interesting.

 

Ilse is a second year social science student with an interest in law and law enforcement with an interest in many different sorts of media.