Things I’ve Seen During Finals
Someone calling in sick to work in order to sleep for their hour long shift.
Someone breakdancing to a boombox blasting Christmas music on the quad.
Someone crying because they got a free sandwich.
Someone walking into the lounge at 1 am with a huge stack of books, and the determination of someone who forgot a term paper.
Someone putting off writing their thesis because someone else needed math help and “logarithms are fun!”
Someone taking a lighter to a notebook as soon as they left the science building.
More than one flask being carried to class.
Someone literally giggle evilly when given a 6-pack of beer.
A freshman taking gen eds complaining about everyone else complaining about how hard finals are. (Note: the freshman may or may not have ever been seen again.)
Someone crossing campus at a run in slippers.
A nursing major explaining that finals are actually natural selection, and that she is the strongest and most adaptable and she was going to survive, while talking to herself.
A different nursing major looking very forlorn because she just ran out of wine.
Someone sleeping on a bench in the music building, with actual pillows and blankets and everything.
Sticky notes with swearwords written on them littered around the science building.
A group of students trying to one-up each other about how badly their juries had just gone.
Someone leaving for the library at 3 am, because there was free coffee there.
Someone flipping off the professor after being wished good luck on the final.
The same person realizing that they have an entire lifetime of that class ahead of them, because it’s their major.
Someone being questioned about how they wanted their funeral to look, after talking about the 8000 words they had due.
Just, so many people sprawled on floors because it’s easier to do that than anything else. So many.
The most genuine gratitude I’ve had directed at me possibly ever, because I gave someone a peanut butter cookie.
Finals: we’re all tired, hungry, and a little unhinged. It’s okay.
