It was the last day before the so-called mid-term ‘break’. There were twenty of us in the exam hall, not including the Professor and the Teaching Fellow. And oh, what a grim sight it was – all five stages of grief on display in a single classroom.
There were some that were still going at it, quite determined, thinking there was something to be salvaged. Others were quietly sobbing away as they scratched out page after page of unsolved integrals. Two people asked for extra sheets and were subjected to vile curses from the rest of us. They were promptly withdrawn when we realised the people just wanted tissues. By the end of the ninety minutes, however, most of us had somehow stumbled our way into acceptance, and were ready to leave.
I handed in my mostly-empty answer sheet, and rushed out of the hall. And there it was. Ahhhh, the smell of freedom. The mid-term ‘break’. Time to go home, and not worry about exams and assignments and lab reports and cranky TFs and missed deadlines anymore. I was sure that a week at home with nothing to do would rejuvenate my spirit, and I was quite looking forward to this break. But little did I know what the ‘break’ would entail.
Before I had even left the shuttle, my phone buzzed with a Google Classroom notification. An assignment for my most dreaded course, due the day I was supposed to return. Then came another notification, for a midterm exam on the same day the assignment was due. Then another one, for a different course, announcing a take-home midterm. Another buzz, announcing another exam a week after the break.
I went home, trying my best to not think about the impending doom. I can work for a while and still relax in the time I have left, right? Yeah, maybe the break would be relaxing after all. I got to work. My parents were going out for a hike, but no, I thought I would finish work, and then go out. It wouldn’t take too long anyway. I was working at a steady pace, getting a lot of work done. At this rate, I would finish everything long before the break ends. Yes, I would be done at any moment, and then, I would have that elusive break. Just a few more hours.
But just as I was about to finish the first assignment, my mom asked me if I had started packing, since I was supposed to leave the next day. That was when it hit me. Long gone are the days of the first year, when I had the time to passionately critique TKS meals for an hour, or spend 8 hours perfecting my 200 word essay for Indian Civilisations. There is nothing but work now.
For most of us, the midterm ‘break’ is just extra time to stress over deadlines. It is a cruel joke meant to deceive us into thinking we will study for the exams to come and save our GPAs. There is no easter bunny, there is no tooth fairy, and there is no midterm break. The midterm break is a myth.
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