Lilly

I should’ve known better than to start trying to enrich my life with memorable experiences two weeks before final exams.

It’s not a big deal, I argued with myself. I only need to be doing preliminary studying, and I have to focus on my tests this week rather than the bigger exams next week, anyway. But it’s hard to reason with yourself—or study, for that matter—when you’re exhausted and nauseous all day, like I was this weekend. ’Tis the season.

Now, rather than going out and making something of these last few weeks of the semester, I struggle to find the motivation I need to study, to keep my grades up, to hold out these last days. Tonight my family is decorating for the holidays. I can go home, watch soccer, and allow myself to relax for a final few hours before I buckle down. I am almost free.