senior-not-itis

When I was a freshman, this really generous, nice senior on my floor took me under her wing. She did a bible study with me once a week and she listened to my frustrations and gave me pretty sound advice. Sometimes she bothered me because she came off so superiorly that it was hard to contradict her. Not everyone is perfect.

Something weird about her: she was not a healthy girl. She was a pharmacy cabinet that never closed, always two days from a doctor's appointment or surgery of small proportion, an herbal tea remedy waiting for the next bowel movement. She made us feel bad for her ailing body, but she never took time to rest and relax. I was sorry for her constant pain, but then again, why not chill out for an hour? She told me that it was hard, but she never took less than 19 credits per semester, because the more she worked, the better she did in school. I thought she was crazy. I prefer 13-15 credits. I like my free time and I enjoy having time to spend with people. In fact, halfway through my junior year I dropped all my extra-curricular activities on campus and started focusing on friends and the occasional outreach. My accolade-desiring spirit was dying off from high school (finally).

This semester, I THINK I know what she means, though. I have yet to go a week where I actually get all my readings done before the class they are supposed to be finished by. I'm usually two steps behind, just willing enough to profer my personal opinions in hopes that they resemble something the title of the chapter we were supposed to read. But even though all my classes are hard and I don't usually figure out what the professor meant until 12 hours before a paper is due or a test is taken, I do love learning this political science mumbo jumbo. My professors have gotten me to ask the hard questions, take time out of my lazy schedule to go see candidates around town, and to think critically about things I don't even find interesting. I guess if the last four years of college had been as fun my senior year is, I would have liked college.

And I only have a couple months left of classes before my AMAZING INTERNSHIP BEGINS!!!

www.iris-center.org