Ahhhh, the pleasures of being a student…?

It’s that time of year where most students feel incredibly excited by the fact that there is only one month of classes left in the term. But upon the realization of just how much work needs to get done in that month, the excitement quickly turns into a gut-wrenching fear.

The days seem to just keep passing and you don’t seem to be getting any work done. The due date for those three papers is rapidly approaching, readings are practically a write-off and the thought of exams is swiftly pushed back into the far corners of your brain because there is simply no time to think about them right now.

The instant you complete one assignment you move immediately to the next, only pausing long enough to put a tick on your list – one down, 18 more “to-dos” to go. Your feel a dull yet distinct pressure against your skull and you swear you have just about filled every inch of your mind with some piece of knowledge.

And amid the endless cups of coffee, packs of jelly beans and sleepless nights you wonder, why the hell am I doing this?

Does this sound familiar?

Some students live for this chaotic time of year. Sure, they may complain while they’re in its midst just so the rest of us don’t strangle them for being so nerdy, but they love it. It’s an adrenaline rush for them.  A raison d’être, if you will.

Others would rather choke down an entire set of pig entrails than go through with the month.

In my first two years of university, I definitely fit into the first category. That’s right. I was one of those annoying little keeners who felt a rush of pleasure with the onslaught of term papers, exams and final tests.

But this year – I’ve already had it. This final month just started today and already I am feeling perpetually nauseous at the thought of all the work that I have to do by the end of it. Staying up until the wee hours of the morning writing papers and getting up before the sun to study for exams has lost all of its appeal for me.

Oh, and I HATE Kristeva.

So in keeping with my life motto – keep it up until it stops being fun – I’ve decided to graduate this year. Yep, that’s right. I decided just yesterday, actually. The thought of being finished with school for good at the end of the next month is the only thing that will get me through this gruelling stretch.

So, here’s to the end of my career as a university student. It’s been fun(ish) while it’s lasted, but I can’t say that I am going to miss it.

What’s next?  I plan on taking time after graduation to de-student myself.  I’ll start by weaning myself down to only two gallons of coffee today, purging my apartment of all sugary substances and ripping my alarm clock out of the wall.

It’s not going to be easy, but at least I won’t have to write a 16-page MLA-style paper about it.