Making it to the end of the school year
As the end of the year quickly approaches, there’s a sensation across campus that both professors and students are going into panic. Papers, experiments, projects, presentations, tests and exams are all being rushed in at the very last minute. And if that isn’t enough, one can always worry about registering for next year’s classes and room assignments, finding a place to store your stuff for the summer or figuring out plans for the next few months.
For me, room assignments were nearly as stressful as registering for classes. People are assigned a randomly generated number based on seniority, then amongst themselves sort out whom they want to room with (if they want to room with anyone at all) and whom they want to share a suite with (if they get a double or single that shares a bathroom). The groups with the highest numbers get first pick on which room/suite and which dorm they want. People with lower numbers have to settle with whatever is left.
Storage is also something that nobody really wants to think about until the last minute. It’s a hassle to make numerous phone calls to various storage places to compare rent prices and sizes of spaces, and then having to organize a group of people you want to share it with to save money. Then of course, there is packing up. (If only everyone had one of those super-duper tidying machines like the one in The Cat in the Hat!)
Wake Forest’s summer break is 15 weeks long – twice as long as it was for me in high school. In this great expanse of time (which will surely pass much faster than anticipated), there are so many possibilities. Some people go work at a summer job or internship to earn a little pocket money; others go home and once again enjoy being doted upon by their parents. For them, going home may be as simple as a quick 45-minute drive to another town, but for people like me (which there aren’t many at all), it involves a very long series of flights that can add up to anywhere between 20 and 40 hours. After comparing ticket prices online for various itinerary possibilities and sorting out visa renewals and extensions, all I can do is cross my fingers and hope there aren’t any flight cancellations.
For those traveling around the world on cruises, lying on foreign beaches, and taking in sights and exotic foods, summer vacation can be rather exciting. After all, who doesn’t like a little bit of leisure? Since I am returning to Beijing, I’m lucky enough to combine the best of both worlds, as one such faraway-land is a place I call home. I am even more excited to return this summer because of the Olympic buzz and my friends reuniting.
That is, if I can make it through these last few weeks of school first.
