Wandering Minds

Beware of Finals Week

It was a pitch black night, cold as the arctic tundra, and the wind howled fiercely, almost sounding faintly of screams. A single dim light illuminated the small room, which was cluttered with unwashed laundry, discarded textbooks, forgotten food wrappers, and empty bowls of instant noodles. The sharp blue light of a laptop illuminates the college student's haggard face. They are hunched over the personal computer, typing fiercely, their eyes burning both from lack of sleep and the impending threat of tears. Dark bruises encircle their bloodshot eyes, which are darting rapidly back and forth between twenty different open tabs on the laptop's screen.

A shaky hand blindly reaches for sustenance, but the coffee and redbull that have been fueling the tired college student have run out, leaving them with nothing but the empty corpses of cans and cups, taunting them. The clock is nearing 1:00 AM; the witching hour. Glancing at the time, the college student's already racing heart jumps into overdrive, the loud thumping in their ears overpowers the calming study music that has been looping for the last eight hours. Suddenly the college student sighs in short lived relief, as they jump to the start of a new page; two down, six pages, one speech, two reflections, and four more papers to go. The college student's eyes burn hotter with the thought, fighting back tears once again. They try in vain not to think about happy things such as a full eight hours of sleep and what their life would be like once the stress of finals were over.

Still furiously typing, the college student looks up, and their wide anxiety ridden eyes meet yours. They reach a stiff, cramped hand out to you, shambling forwards like a zombie. Opening their dry, chapped lips, they rasp out a single word: "Please." With growing intensity and desperation they reach closer and closer. "Please. I can't it take anymore. I haven't had more than three hours of sleep. I don't even remember what a full night's sleep feels like!" Their voice trembles with stress and caffeine, getting increasingly higher and faster with each word. The college student finally grabs hold of you, their red eyes stare straight into your soul. "Please," they implore, their voice thick and heavy with emotion. "Please for the sake of what little sanity I have left, just let me end my misery!"

Then, with a scream that was mixed with desperation and frustration, they fling themselves into the deep, dark pit full of assignments. Then in an instant, the college student was gone, disappearing into the never ending black hole called, "Finals."