Thursday, April 28, 2011

"Pain is temporary, GPA is forever."

I always knew that studies here were taken very seriously, but I may have underestimated just how much.  Finals are a short week away and the vibe on campus feels panicky and intense.  I even started to get a little overwhelmed, but I was able to finish up my work before today, which is my last day of class at NTU!  It's bittersweet (but mostly just sweet) and I can't believe the semester is nearly over.

I received an e-mail that was sent out to my entire hall from one of the residence hall directors regarding the upcoming finals.  The quote in the post title was the dramatic climax.  I read the e-mail in the library and broke the silence with my uncontrollable laughter, which resulted in countless dirty glares (my b).  The rest of the e-mail included phrases like "we're all in this together!" and "let's all help each other!" and "love your hall friends, love your neighbors, and love your roomies!".  I think the email was meant to be encouraging, but that was far from the emotion I felt whilst reading it.  This wasn't said directly, but this is what I got out of the message: 'We understand that you're all very stressed right now with finals... and you should be.  Your GPA is THE most important thing in your life right now and forever.  But hey, at least you're not alone because you're all competing to get the best marks.'


Inspiring, right?  Though I found the email humorous, to most of the students of NTU this is no laughing matter.  With many extracurricular activites ending in March because exams were approaching and the countless posters that have been hung up for weeks now wishing luck for the exams, it's clear these students are not messing around.  I've arrived at the library at about 8:45 the past couple of mornings (it opens at 8:30) and by 9am there's not a single free table.  In my past two days at the library, I've put in about 20 hours of work.  woo woo!  Feels like home, but the only reason I've been buried in the books is because I'm about to take a week long trip to Bali, Indonesia before finals while they continue to put in 12 hour days of studying.


I feel like I should be more worried about my finals, but I'll leave the worrying for when I return from Bali :)

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