1. Time flies when you’re having fun
Looking back over the semester so far, what do you remember? Do you specifically remember all the minutes you’ve spent studying? I personally remember more of the moments I've had with my friends, my clubs and other things outside of classes themselves. Spending time on the Lawn together or catching up with friends over dinner is what I see when I look back. I don’t ever look back at the end of a semester and remember every moment of the biochemistry studying I did before the second midterm. Looking back retrospectively, time seems to go by so much faster than it did when you were living it.
2. It isn’t warm yet
If the weather were warmer in Charlottesville, it would be significantly easier to believe that it is already April. The weather seems to be stuck in March-level temperatures and temperament, making the days dreary and making it seem like the semester should not be as far progressed as it is. In the mornings it is 40-50 degrees and then in the afternoon I'm constantly stuck in a weird limbo between being hot and cold, depending on the wind gusts. It’s not cold enough for our winter jackets but it isn’t quite warm enough for short sleeves yet. I’m ready for true spring weather.
3. Schedule adjustments
Even though we’ve been back to in-person learning since August, I’m still getting used to how long it takes to walk places on Grounds. I've found myself having to run to meetings that I schedule too close together. I feel as if going to and from classes takes up a much larger chunk of our day than just the time spent in class. The extra 10 to 20 minutes on either end of class times makes the days where you have classes so much more hectic than previous years. I find myself killing time and staying on Grounds when I have multiple classes just to avoid the walk home.
4. Spring break was a month ago
This may seem hard to believe, but spring break was almost the halfway point of the semester. I’m not sure about anybody else but, for me, the half of the semester before spring break seems like it was so long ago. The week-long break that separates the semester definitely makes the first half of the semester harder to remember once we’re well into the second half. This effect makes the first half feel like a lifetime ago, making the semester as whole feel like it’s been drawn out.
5. We’re constantly busy
Keeping up with school work, club meetings and jobs during the weeks makes every day seem like multiple days in one. By the time you make it to Thursday, it feels like you’ve been to six different days worth of obligations – and it's only day four. During the week I have to go to four classes on Tuesdays and then run to work after I get out of my last class. By the time I get home, I haven’t been home for 10 hours sometimes. Those 10 hours feel like the longest of my life when I’m running around without a second to take a break.
6. Waking up early
When you are tired, time seems to move so much slower than when you’re not. Waking up early to go to class or get work done makes the day seem much longer than when you sleep in on the weekends. When you sleep in until 11 a.m. or noon on the weekends, you already lose two to three hours that you would have been productive during the week. 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. classes are brutal, so you lose the chance to sleep in during the week. Every day that you’re tired will seem to go by slowly, but looking back at the end of the week it will seem like it went by in a moment. The weekend seems to be the only time that you get the opportunity to take a deep breath and fully realize how much you actually accomplished during the week.
7. Classes make the days go by slower
The hours that are spent in class crawl compared to the hours spent taking breaks or spent outside. The one hour and 15 minute classes that are mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays are brutal if they’re in a typical lecture format the whole time. Being concentrated for such a long time is extremely draining, and it makes you look forward to the time when you’re done with classes for the day, which just makes the day drag on longer.
8. Rainy days
Why does it only ever rain during the week? The idea of having to walk to classes in the rain makes waking up in the morning so much more difficult on rainy days. It also seems that Charlottesville picks one day a week for the weather to be icky — and it typically isn’t on the weekends. Once you walk to class in the rain after forgetting your raincoat, spending the rest of your day slightly damp is truly dreadful. Cloudy skies make me sleepy and being stuck in the rain makes me look forward to when I can crawl into bed, which always makes the time seem to pass so incredibly slowly.
9. Exams
Exams make a week feel eons long. If you’re dreading an exam in the middle of the week, the first few days you spend studying non-stop for it. Then for the second half of the week, you’re playing catchup with the rest of your classes. It is a recipe for making the weeks seem much longer than they really are. Once you’re caught up though, you have to do it all over again.
10. We’re waiting for the weekends
This may be the most obvious answer, but the weekends — or Thursday afternoons — are when the fun begins. Having a break from classes and being able to relax is what I personally look forward to most by Monday morning. By willing the weekend to come faster, we definitely make the weeks seem longer than they actually are.
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