Midterm Madness

Not to sound cliché, but from what I’ve heard of the overall college experience, it is supposed to be a time for us young adults to step out of the narrow mind of high school and step into a world of discovery and exploration.  It’s said to be a place where students can ditch the pointless and uninteresting classes taken in high school and take classes that let us further examine and question topics that we’re actually wondering about.

Lately, with due dates and midterms surrounding my nights and (very early) mornings, I’ve been wondering if the amount of course work many students get in college is beneficial or stifling to our ability to find where we stand.

On the one hand, one may argue that the hours of studying information we probably won’t remember in a month or two could be giving us less time to think about our own opinions. If one’s mind is drowning in papers and exams, only coming up to breathe for food and sleep, it can be argued that it is nearly impossible to fully swallow the texts and think about how one stands on the information. I know that personally, with this week being divided between studying at the library, going to class, and going to work, I have had little time to even think about what all the information and concepts I’m learning even mean to me. How am I supposed to know how my own values fit into those of Behavioral Medicine’s when I’m too busy making flash cards and worrying about squeezing every term possible into my 19-year-old brain?

Here’s where I get confused. On the other hand, although the weeks surrounding exams may seem like one huge daze of headaches and anxiety, to be honest, college is not always like this. We all have the weeks where we (hopefully) have just enough on our plates to be satisfied but not stuffed. One may argue that the fact that we can take classes on such various subjects as Creative Writing, Electric Circuit Theory, and English Ritual Dance and Drama gives us the chance to explore what makes ours minds pop with excitement and stir with interest.

So, BU students, what’s your take on the matter? Does the amount of course work we often get enhance our ability to dive into the sea of knowledge and learn to scuba our way around the diverse creatures of the universe? Or does it simply leave us gasping for air, slowly drowning among the species that we will never get to know?