Okay, how many of you had 99s tell you that the summer is a very chill time, because professors understand that it is summer and therefore assign less work? I heard this from lots of people, but unfortunately I neglected to ask them what classes they were taking. I can tell you one thing: they weren't taking any of the classes that I'm currently enrolled in. Oh well. I'm really glad that this is the first term I've ever had three end of term papers -- and three finals/exams. It's made these last two weeks so enjoyable. Oh, and I also did two in-class presentations, but who's counting?
I'm not the only one. I started asking every person I knew, and even some people I didn't know, what they thought of the summer. The general consensus seems to be that this summer was TOO MUCH WORK, and that we were all very surprised by this.
The summer wasn't horrible. It just wasn't different from any other Dartmouth term. Okay, so the weather has been nicer, and there have been lots of campers walking around with ID cards around their necks, but these are hardly major differences. The thing that bothers me most about the summer is the false advertising. The powers that be at Dartmouth get us all psyched up for sophomore summer, but then they don't do anything to make it special. I guess we all have the power to create our own experiences, but it's really hard to do when classes are so hard. I feel bad for everyone in Bio 23, who perhaps wanted to take it easy this term, but were forced to take the class because it is only offered in the summer. None of these people wanted to spend half the summer analyzing DNA sequences. Whose bright idea was it to force them all into it? Weren't we all supposed to be able to relax?
I am going to relax soon. I'm going to Scotland next term, and I can't wait. That's the only thing that has been semi-motivating me to do work. Every paper I churn out brings me one step closer to departing Hanover. It's not that I hate it here, because I really don't. It's just that sometimes the combination of too much work and a town that is slightly too tiny makes me antsy.
There's a whole world outside of Hanover just waiting to be explored, and that's what I plan on doing next term. In less than a month, I'll be going to Rome and Paris and various other incredible places. I'll actually see the Eiffel Tower and eat lots of French pastries and walk through castles and do all this stuff that I've always dreamed of doing. I complain about Dartmouth sometimes, (actually quite a lot) but you'll never hear me say that they don't give us enough opportunities. I feel so incredibly fortunate to be going on an FSP, and sometimes the casualness with which I inform relatives and friends that I'm going to study in Scotland for two months disturbs me. I'll have to work on that one.
When I come back next winter, and the '01s and '02s ask me what the summer is like, I'm not going to lie. I'm going to tell them to take two classes, or to NRO something. Maybe then they'll actually have a summer term that feels like the summer should.
