I’ve never had a more relaxing break. In college, when you’re done with the semester, you’re DONE. No essays to write, no projects to do, no books to read (unless, of course, they’re on your own personal booklist). Such magnificent freedom, however, comes at high a cost:

... cue Jaws music...

EXAMS.

Well, the good thing is that if you start studying over Thanksgiving, the workload is manageable, and everything will probably run smoothly given you keep a steady study pace up until exam time. On the flip side, what psycho college student willingly puts himself through six weeks of self-inflicted hell? Sadly, I’m one of those obsessive freaks who spent Thanksgiving dinner thinking about myelin sheaths and Plato, although I’m terribly inefficient and spend most of my study time in a daydream. Even though I was up studying for my psych exam until 4 AM before my 8:30 test, the work paid off and my grades were just fine.

Furman, however, (whose unofficial motto is “where your best is not good enough since 1826) is surprisingly sympathetic toward the mental health of its students, particularly during exam time. FUSAB, the Furman student body, hired professional massage therapists, and students who signed up early enough got free messages, along with coffee and muffins. Unfortunately, my friend Jessica and I didn’t get there in time, so we grabbed some junk food and gave each other massages. Overall, I didn’t think exam time turned out to be nearly as horrible as it’s cracked up to be.

Although I’ve heard frightening stories about college professors from the Black Lagoon, I was extremely lucky this semester on getting into some great classes. I couldn’t tell you which class was my favorite, but I was particularly impressed with my Spanish professor, Dr. Bost. I came into his class a little nervous about Spanish, since I hadn’t taken AP Spanish since my junior year but had scored well on the placement test. After the first class, he assured me that I was in the right course level, and he made it clear that I was to let him know if I had any problems or needed extra help, a policy which of which I took advantage. In class, he made Spanish interesting by constantly making us laugh (I laugh twice as loudly as anyone else, mainly because I’m so proud of myself for understanding the joke), and I also gained confidence in my speaking skills. I’m even thinking about trying to get into one of the Spanish houses next year, even though I’d only planned to take a year of language just to get the requirement out of the way.

Well, I’m going to get back to reading the sixth Harry Potter book for the fourth time... hope everybody’s having as fabulous a break as I am.