Fall "Break"

    I said I would be more consistent with my posting last time, but this time I really mean it! I’ll be writing once a week with general thoughts on my Drake experience. One notable period that just passed was fall break.
    Fall break typically represents a period where students can soak up some R & R after a stressful week of midterms and papers, and is often the time where many students travel home and visit their families. One thing I’ve noticed about this year’s courses compared to the previous three is that things have been slightly faster paced. This can be attributed to the new January-term that will begin each spring. Consequently, both the fall and spring semesters have been shortened by one week, confining the semesters from 16 weeks into 15. Most professors have not altered their curriculum; they’re just covering the material at a faster pace.
    I’ve also noticed how my fall “breaks” have slowly been transformed from true breaks to periods where I need to catch up on work over my four years at Drake. My freshman year, I went home and didn’t do much work, Sophomore year I hung around Drake and did a little more schoolwork (and crucial cleaning of my dorm room), last year I cranked out a few lab reports and prepared for several tests, and this year, I devoted almost all of the free time in my break towards preparing for my capstone.
    I have a larger credit load this semester (16 credits compared to the normal 12-13 I’ve taken my first three years), which has kept me very busy. This past Friday, I had to give a 25 minute presentation on some chemistry research I’ve done at Drake, as well as turn in a rough draft of my senior thesis. As of last Saturday, I had not started working on either, not out of procrastination, but because there were other deadlines and important topics of study to tackle first. Thankfully this past week I received a TON of grace, and was able to be super productive, and deliver a presentation I was very happy with. Of course right when it ended I needed to get started on a math take home test, study for a biology test and prepare a biology lab presentation. It seems it never ends, but it’s been a joy filled semester overall. It’s fun to learn and work hard when the material you’re learning interests you and will be relevant in your future career. More on that next time.