Calvin and Hobbes is the wildly popular daily newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist, Bill Watterson. Calvin and Hobbes' antics lasted from November 18, 1985-December 31, 1995. Although mutant snowmen, the G.R.O.S.S club, and Calvinball are some of my favorite moments in the series' run, the "Calvin and Hobbes" strips centered on school are my favorite. There's a reason why Calvin's teacher, Miss Wormwood, is named after the Junior Tempter in C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters."
1. Trying to be quiet when you're getting ready for school and your roommate is still asleep.
We all know the struggle: when your roommate has a class at noon, but you have one at 9:00 AM. I'm mostly Calvin in this situation, albeit not as rude. (Sorry, Amy!) You tiptoe around getting ready, but then a hairdryer falls to the floor or a book clatters off your bookshelf, always succeeded by the hissing I'm sorry!
2. When you have to take one general education math class to graduate.
Math has never been my strongest subject and I've procrastinated my general education math course until my junior year. All of the nursing and chemistry majors scoff at my so-called easy math class, but I'm constantly struggling to remember what I learned in high school. Math is like the office of the President of the United States: Most everyone will agree that it is important, even if they don't agree with or understand the person, or in this case--concepts, in office.
3. Group Projects
Group Projects are an annoying, necessary part of college. There is the common belief that group work is a good tool to gauge success in the 21st century competitive job market. Really, though, group projects just prove again and again that it's difficult to work with other students, especially if you're concerned about your grade. One person seems to do most of the work, while the others follow their lead.
4. Tests, especially True or False tests.
I understand that tests are really one of the only effective tools to ensure actual learning is happening, but man, sometimes tests can be a pain in the rear. With multiple choice tests, there are strategies that make it easier to choose the right answer, but with true or false, you can only rely on your knowledge and the context of the question; which, is why true and false tests are so effective.
5. Trying to stay awake in a long lecture class.
6. Academic writing can be difficult.
I tutor students at Marshall University's Writing Center and many of our students have trouble with academic writing, because they think they can't be academic and preserve their own voice or writing style. Academic writing doesn't have to be convoluted or an "impenetrable fog" as Calvin says, it just has to be based on a well-supported, reasonable argument.
7. Procrastination
I procrastinate and rationalize all the time, especially on the weekends. I constantly rationalize my procrastination by procrastinating in productive ways. Sometimes, working under a time crunch is the best motivation.
8. Fakin' it until you make it
Honestly, there are just some concepts that we understand in a superficial way, like how the eye functions or why the word, "xylophone" is spelled with the letter "x" instead of "z." The hopeful thing about this idea is that ignorance doesn't have to last forever, one day you will understand something that is complex and complicated for us now
9. You really want your degree, but there are some days that it would be awesome if you had an identical twin to go to your classes for you.
There are days that I call "Blah Days."--days in which you would much rather snooze all day than go to class, even if it's important. Yet, you go, because it is important; although, you never stop wishing for that identical twin to show up.
10. Missing college during the summers, even though it's a less stressful time.
I love the long summer vacations of college. The summer jobs, the bonfires, the friends--it's heaven. There is, however, a nagging feeling in my gut during the summer: I miss learning and my professors. Even though it's difficult and I wonder if I'm going to make it sometimes, this opportunity means so much to me.
Hopefully, we all have professors, unlike Miss Wormwood, and friends like Hobbes, to carry us through the tough times in college and allow us to learn about life and love.
