The midterm season here at Williams is quite an interesting time. By "quite," I mean "very" and by "interesting," I mean "extremely stressful." The worst part is that it creeps up on you. One moment, you're doing your thing, playing your sport, singing with your acapella group, watching your Netflix, and then your professor mentions your midterms and your heart sinks. Some professors present midterm assignments in a cheery fashion, but that's like putting sugar on asparagus; it doesn't help. Other professors are "realists" and tell it like it is which also....doesn't really help. Of course, I may be wrong in speaking for a whole campus of students. Maybe some people don't think mid-terms are bad at all or, dare I say it, actually enjoy midterms (LOL, no). In any case, I'm sure plenty of students have had/will have some of the following reactions to the bad news.
Denial
But we just got here! Tragic, I know, but time really does fly when you're having fun. Or studying your butt off at a prestigious college. Despite the weather and your constant exhaustion, something in you still feels like it's still the beginning of September. Where did all the time go?
Instant Procrastination
Your first midterm isn't for another week? Cool, you caught up on "House of Cards," "The Walking Dead," and "Scandal" in no time. Your midterms should be a breeze. Ben Franklin once said, "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today," but if that were the case, you'd think they would've gotten rid of the British much sooner. Just relax, you'll get to it.
Eh
You are mostly unbothered by midterms. People around you freak out over homework and grades all the time, how is this any different? You don't care how it's different; you'll do what you'll do anyway.
Plan, plan, plan
OK, so I have a 12 page research paper due next Friday, and an Econ midterm exam the day before that I still need to study a lot for right after I finish this 300 page text for English class tomorrow and If I spend three hours on research and one hour and 30 minutes studying Econ each day between extracurricular activities, oh, and I have to study for CompSci midterm too, let me work that in here… This is you.
Do it!
Yeah, midterms suck, but that's life. Suck it up , you tell yourself. Hit the books, hit the gym, hit the books again, drink water, get sleep, and eventually get money because that's what we're here for. If you work hard now and just jump into what you have to do, you don't give yourself time to second guess and stall. You want a degree, so later you can have a stable job you love and then you can chill all you want.
Ultimately, chances are, you'll do just fine on your midterms. You're here for a reason, and as cliché as it sounds, you can do anything you put your mind to. So the next midterm season, despite your initial reaction, remember that you are awesome and you can tackle midterms if you're determined to.
