Reading Day

Posted by Frank on Friday, December 11, 2009 in Academic Life, Advice for Parents, Balance, Commons, Freshman Commons, Housing.

Yesterday was the last day of classes for the fall semester. Today is Reading Day. Finals begin tomorrow, and continue throughout next week. For everyone, this is an intense time of year. How to capture the feel? People head in every direction. Papers, projects, and presentations were due this week and last—and were being completed at **all** hours. Last weekend many of the fraternities and sororities had semi-formal dances…a last hurrah before the last climb. How many exams do you have next week, and when’s the last one…when are you going home? North House and Hank Ingram House organized buying thirty tickets to go see the new movie Invictus, about Nelson Mandela and South African rugby, this afternoon. Some student early this morning in The Commons Center when I went to exercise was playing the grand piano in the lobby—a crescendo of beautiful music that either was his solo in Blair or his own form of early morning (or very late night) exercise.

Listen in. This musical group or that latest twist of digital technology is cool. I’m applying for a scholarship to the Global Summer Fellows Program through GEO to study abroad this Maymester between junior and senior year. My HOD honors thesis is about the diverse impulses at work in subconscious decision-making. I’m meeting with two of my History Profs on Friday to discuss the first draft of my thesis. My class schedule for the spring is set. Have you written my letter of recommendation yet? I’m not leaving for home until next weekend because I have the general chemistry final next Saturday. I did receive a Hanukah care package from my parents yesterday. You can’t play the music that loud; there are general quiet hours in all the residence halls starting today. It’s a great idea to have a student-sponsored conversation next term in The Commons about why people group together in the ways that they do. No, I can’t go out; I have to study. Yes, I am going out; I need a break. I’m catching up on my sleep today because I’m going to need it next week. Then it’s home for the holiday. I can’t wait.

The place has its rhythms. It’s that time of year. Finals are here.

Tags: finals, formals, GEO, Global Summer Fellow Program, Greek Life, Hank Ingram, Reading Day, Study Abroad, The Commons, Vanderbilt University