All Good Things Come to an End...for some people.

My first final is due tomorrow!! Fortunately, it's a metrics paper that I've already worked on a little bit, but I'm still upset that finals week is now slapping me mercilessly in the face, leaving me only with memories of the past few incredible weeks and a tiny glimmer of hope for Spring Break. Finals week is notorious for making me miserable - it's hard to enjoy life when you're holed up in a gray cement building with envelope labels for windows.
Aside from the work though, finals make me sad because they mark another end to a quarter, another step closer to graduation. Don't get me wrong - I'm so excited to be done with school and out on my own feeling like I'm actually contributing to the world. College has been great for me, though. This quarter was cold as hell (I always thought "Hell" was supposed to be this burning inferno, and then I experienced -18F again) and packed with work, but I can still say that I had an incredible time. Every day was an adventure...to say the least.









To be all sappy for a moment, I wish more people would realize that life is a gift, and so many opportunities only come once. Why not take every opportunity, and live up the moments that you can? I hate realizing that I've missed out on something great; I hate wondering "what if"? This isn't to say that you should shun all responsibility and commitment to others in a sea of partying and flakiness...I'm definitely rewarded by the time I put in at school and work. It's just important - to me at least - to enjoy my life, and never have to look back and feel regret for missing out on opportunities that I can't have anymore. I'm always surprised by how many people I know who are afraid to be themselves and do what they want to do for the sake of some overarching nebulous future; I'm more surprised by the people who try to push their fear and inhibitions on me.
My mom (bless her heart, she'd be so upset with my usage of her advice) has always told me that life is a journey, not a destination, and I really believe it. I have no intention to reach 80 and only have a (large) chunk of retirement change, 5 cats, and cubicle tales to enjoy. Every day gives me something new to learn, somewhere new to go, and someone new to meet - I'd rather open those doors than sit in front of my TV and highlight in a textbook every night.
So yeah. These past few weeks were littered with birthdays, welcomes, goodbyes, special dinners, impromptu brunches, and lots of Jimmy's. Thank God - I don't think I could take a week of 3am studying sessions with so many sleep-deprived, greasy-haired UChicagoans (take a shower and eat some vegetables!) if I had let the cold and relentless wind whip my ass like I thought it would. I only wish the school would give us a reading period that lasted longer than 2 days...reading minute is more like it. Everytime I hear about a University that gives students a week before finals (outside of Spring Break), I get seriously annoyed. I suppose I have to think about exams here like ripping off a bandaid...
Oh well - Metrics will come and go, as it always has. My Rome final (hopefully) won't be so bad, and I'm looking forward to printing for my final Photography portfolio. And, like I said, Spring Break provides me with a glimmer of hope in the near future. Two weeks chilling at Daniel's house in a little resort island off of Florida. It'll be hot, it'll be fun, and it'll be the best way to end a Winter Quarter that kept getting better. As a side note, after looking through the 10,000 pictures I posted in this entry (there were a lot more too, but I decided to exercise minimal restraint), I've come to realize that it's been a long time since I smiled like a normal person in a picture. Perhaps the seemingly endless stream of Hypnotiq affected me more than I realized...

Currently Listening To: Jaclyn yowling Lisa Loeb