It’s finally here. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. At long last, classes are drawing to an end, and summer is in sight. Whether you have one week left, or three, the light at the end of the tunnel is there, and shining brightly. Unfortunately, most of us still have the most difficult challenges lying ahead of us. This one goes out to all of you at 4 a.m., in caffeine-induced laptop trances, snapping out of it to find yourself scrolling through socialist memes when you were trying to write a paper on cell division. You’re not as much of a mess as you think you are. As you sit down to bubble in that Scantron in the shape of a flower because if nothing else, you can still appreciate art, here are some words of wisdom to keep in mind.
1. “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” -Winston Churchill
Coming from a man facing down the entirety of Nazi Germany from an island half the size of California, this seems like a rather bold attitude. If he could maintain this attitude during the bombing of London, you can do it during the siege of Term Papers. It may seem like you’re failing to get anything done, but as long as you keep trying wholeheartedly, you’re there.
2. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” -Thomas A. Edison
Keep this one in your pocket for emergencies. When your parents start asking you why you flunked Organic Chem, just remind them that you didn’t fail. You just found one of 10,000 ways not to pass.
3. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” -Henry Ford
For all of you who have already accepted your fate, before you drop out entirely, remember the words of Henry Ford. Just because you may have to retake a class or four doesn’t mean you’ll never pass. You just have the opportunity to try again, with a better idea of what you’re doing.
4. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” -Albert Schweitzer
For real, though. The point of going to college is not to spend a lot of money on a piece of paper or to keep your nose to the grindstone so hard that you look like Voldemort by the time you graduate. You’re in college to learn more about something you love, and to gain the skills to do something that makes you happy. Why spend all this money on something that’s going to make you miserable?
5. “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” -Mark Twain
This is for all of you who totally forgot that your ten-page paper is due at midnight tonight, and it’s 11:05 pm. To you who had so many other finals to study for that you totally forgot about the one you’re walking into right now. Trust your instincts, act like you know what you’re doing, and make it up as you go along. At this point, there aren’t a lot of better alternatives.
6. “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” -Albert Einstein
Never forget that this won’t last forever. When you’re 60 years old and you can’t remember anything from college, what will stick with you is the things you learned so well that you just accepted them as common sense. They become part of you and shape who you are, whether you notice it or not.
7. “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” -Kurt Vonnegut.
Remember this when you’ve stayed up for so long that you no longer remember your own name. Yes, you could dissolve into tears. But wouldn’t it be more fun to just laugh at the absurdity of your battle with this mountain of work? In the end, it doesn’t matter how much you finish, as long as you gave an effort. What is there to do but laugh?
