Elizabeth Reinking
Staff Writer
I’ve hit that point in the semester that runners ever so quaintly refer to as “the wall.” Hitting this wall is an easy enough sensation to recognize; it makes any and all studying feel like you’re mentally diving headfirst over and over into a pile of bricks. Even the smallest homework assignment can become an insurmountable obstacle.
The wall is a tricky thing to deal with, because it always shows up right when you need your focus and concentration the most. Take right now, for example. We’ve got about a month or so left in the semester, and I’m betting that, like me, most of you are getting your final projects and papers assigned about now. This is awesome, especially considering these assignments coincide exactly with the height of my disinclination to do them.
It is interesting that I am so whiny about my school assignments, given that I have about the easiest fall semester load known to Pepperkind. And if this is how I’m feeling about my schoolwork, I can’t even imagine how much worse it is for the rest of you. That wasn’t meant to be a rub-my-easy-courseload-in-your-face moment, although it kind of turned out that way.
But the point here is not whether or not I have a right to “hit the wall,” because there’s no denying that I have hit it. The purpose is to find a way to deal with it, and in so doing, give you all some unasked for advice on how to make it through the rest of the semester.
By “dealing with the problem,” I of course mean “denying and avoiding it.” Sure, excellent time-management might help you break right through that wall, but that’s hard. And it’s November already – I don’t have any strength left for busting down walls. All I want is a ladder.
Ooh, here’s an idea. Everyone’s tired of their classes, right? So instead of struggling on in vain in our current subjects, why don’t we just switch homework assignments? It’s perfect! New things are always more interesting than the ones we’ve been slaving over for months.
Everyone can write a list of all of their homework assignments, and we’ll put them into a giant bowl and draw out new ones. Sure, it might be tough for creative writing majors who put in “Write three poems” and pull out “Find a way to prove cold fusion,” but I’m sure it will all shake out in the end. Of course, this method presupposes that we’re all so tired of our classes that we no longer care at all what our grades are. So maybe we can keep this as a back-up plan.
I can’t deny, though, that since hitting the wall, I’ve become much more productive in all other areas of my life. Washing dishes and re-organizing my CDs has never looked more attractive, and my bathroom has never been cleaner. Yesterday I spent fully two hours researching vintage t-shirts on eBay. Not that this can necessarily be classified as productive, but at least it’s an improvement over staring catatonically at a blank Word document.
know that, in theory, this semester can’t go on forever, and in only a few weeks I’ll be sitting at home, decorating my Christmas tree and checking my grades online, but right now that seems so very far away. The hours go by so incredibly slowly, and since I’ve already discarded the possibility of doing homework, I may as well take up some new hobbies, right?
For example, I’ve never been much of a cook. By that, I mean that I live almost totally off of frozen microwave meals and La Salsa burritos. But now, I’m all about cooking. I should have my own cooking show! The question is, can I create a cooking showing based solely around pasta with canned sauce, chicken with instant mashed potatoes, and tacos?
Maybe I could start training for the Olympics. I’ve got a good three and a half years or so to find an athletic talent. I remember finding double-trap shooting pretty fascinating. How hard can it be, really? Or I could just put all my efforts toward making wall-hitting an Olympic sport. I’m not sure exactly what it would entail. Maybe whoever weasels out of the most homework assignments and still manages to wrangle a decent grade from his or her professor wins. Let’s make it a campus-wide competition. Ready? Go!
11-11-2004
