My finals ended on Thursday night and I believe I did pretty well on all of my finals. After the final was over, a bunch of us watched movies, played Guild Wars, and just relaxed into the early hours of the morning. It was a great chance to unwind after finals ended for most of our friends.

On Friday, I spent the large majority of the day packing my room and helping Phil pack his room as well. I have a storage building that I put a lot of my stuff in to make moving in easier. It is $40 a month, but several of my friends share it so it is actually really cheap and makes life easier for all of us. It fit all of my stuff, several of Phil’s larger bins, and all of Alyssa’s stuff. We started my room around noon, and we wrapped up with the final trip to the storage building around 4:00 and cleaning my room. Then, we went to my house in Pennsylvania briefly to drop off my fish so that they didn’t have to sit in the car while we cleaned Phil’s room and Phil’s car couldn’t fit both of our stuff that was going home.

We got back to campus around 7:00, packed Phil’s room some and then went to Denny’s with Alyssa for dinner. After we got back, we finished packing his room and headed to my house for the night. Phil left for his house this morning and I unpacked some at home. I am definitely going to miss my campus friends over the summer, but the chance to unwind for a while is welcomed. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to get back on the Hill next year and begin my senior year.

So finals started today, so the normal work and class schedule of the semester is officially over. My finals schedule is kinda busy – I have my first four finals today and tomorrow and then my last one is on Thursday. I already took the two finals for today. The first one was in the afternoon, my Foreign Policy exam. It was fairly easy since it was just two essays and I was finished relatively quickly. I had studied for that exam a lot during the weekend and I feel like I did very well. My second exam today was my Religion in Art and Egypt Exam. This exam was also fairly basic – 8 identifications and 2 essays. It was a little longer than my first exam but I also had a little less to say on the essays. Both exams went well and I am now reviewing for the 2 exams I have tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I have my Global Environmental Politics exam and my Al-Amia exam. My Amia exam includes a grade from my final project (a 10 minute video blog) and the written portion that we will do in class. The Global Environmental Politics exam is the same format as the midterm – multiple choice, fill in the blank, a few short answers, and four short essays. I am not worried about either exam because I have done well in the classes so far and I have studied for both already and will review more tonight.

My final exam is the one I need to study for the most – international law and organization. It is not a hard class, but there is a lot of course material to review for that exam. However, most of my studying will probably occur tomorrow night and Wednesday since after my afternoon exam tomorrow, that will be my only test.

One of the most difficult things about spring is allergies. If I could find a way for allergies to not exist, I would. They are painful and awful. I have noticed this spring, however, that far more people are struggling than I have ever seen before. People are sneezing, sniffling, and going through tissues at an alarming rate.

There are a few things on campus that really help with allergies. Besides taking medicine, I like to find creative ways to ease the pain. One thing I do is swim, surprisingly, the chlorine and cold water on my face really calms my nose down. The opposite is also true, so I take plenty of hot, steamy showers. I also make use of the convenience store, where I can buy tissues.

It is definitely necessary to take precautions against allergies, especially because spring is the perfect time to sit outside on campus. The grass is green, the trees are blooming, and everyone enjoys the weather by reading and writing outdoors. During the afternoon you can see students scattered across the lawns in the center of campus enjoying the weather. In order to enjoy and take part in these activities, allergies need to be under control.

Having been through four years of finals (eight if you count high school) there are three main ways I have noticed that someone can take a final. Here are the three that I see on campus.

1) The procrastinator: This student does everything at absolutely the last minute. You see them in the library one hour before the test cramming. They are reading frantically, running around campus, and occasionally missing exams entirely. Yes, this has happened. These students sometimes stay up so late cramming, drinking coffee, and using the library until the latest possible time (2 a.m. for exam week and the week before).

2) The overly prepared student: This student barely studies. They float around exam week with a smile, sleeping in late and chatting with friends. They have studied for the entire semester, and done all of the homework ahead of time. There is no catching up or falling behind with this student. Their exam grades are perfect and they are often the first out of the exam because they know all the answers by heart.

3) The “average” student: This student has done most of their work for the semester. They go to the library to study for their exams, but it does not take very long, only a couple of hours. There are a few exams they feel a bit stressed for, and they are a bit frantic, but overall they maintain a positive attitude through the week.

Luckily for me, I fall into the second category. I have almost no work this finals week, and I am able to relax. What a great feeling!

So, this weekend I went to Phil’s house with Alyssa, Mehar, and Phil to have a quiet study location before finals, and also some home cooked food. Yesterday, Friday night, we mostly relaxed. We went swimming and tried to unwind for final paper’s week and all of the recent work in our classes. After swimming, we watched a movie (Interview with a Vampire) since I had not seen it before and then studied a little before going to bed.

Today, all of us got some shopping done to get us through finals week. We got some snack food, quick cook meals, and more. We went to the local crystal shop to get some jewelry supplies for Dan at school and to look and see if there was a good birthday gift for our friend Probie. I didn’t find anything there, but I have some ideas still. We also went by walmart to see about getting a going away gift for my house moderator, who returns to Palestine about a week after finals end.

Tonight, after studying for a while, we plan to play guild wars to relax, watch a little tv, and go for another swim. We have already spent several hours studying, so hopefully the break will be well deserved.

This week we are presenting our Sociology final presentations for our capstone class. I am incredibly nervous, but also excited. The Sociology department works very hard to produce good research. In fact, last semester, we had to walk around randomly surveying the entire school. The process took several weeks, but it was worthwhile because Sociology posters have some of the most representative information on campus.

The posters are set up in the main campus building, and there is a formal presentation for an hour later today. Everyone’s research is about there interest, and varies from drinking, to studying, to marriage. My specific topic is about the relationship between ethnocentrism and homophobia.

The presentations are usually a lot of fun. People come and ask questions while eating delicious crab dip. It is incredible to think that I am finally wrapping up my entire experience for my major. I worked on this project for the entire semester, and I am proud to present my work this afternoon. The Sociology projects are hard work, but it is worthwhile. Now I have a great thing to show my potential employers, and also a final product from my time as a Sociology major.

This week is the last week of classes. It is hard coming to terms with the fact that it is my last week as an undergraduate. Yesterday I had my last Monday! This is partially exciting, because Mondays are always difficult, but it still feels crazy to imagine that in a few short weeks I will no longer be a student. I’ve been a student for my entire life! At least as far back as I can remember.

People here are getting ready to take off for home or summer jobs, but it definitely feels different knowing I will be saying goodbye forever. Westminster is a nice college town but I doubt I will ever be back in the area again. This makes conversations with friends sort of sad, knowing that it may be the last time I ever see them.

It reminds me of when I was in high school. I went to a boarding school and formed strong connections with my peers through living with them. Despite these connections, we did not really keep in touch once I graduated. I know that as soon as I establish a new life and a new home that the memories and relationships I have from college will disappear. Mostly I am okay with that, I still look back fondly on my high school experience and think that I will feel the same way about college. It’s a scary time here at school, but I am ready to say my last goodbyes to this week of class and move on to the next chapter of my life.