My voice has been growing lower and lower for the past few weeks, and I can't say I dislike it. It's actually kind of cool to hear your voice as it's never been before - sort of similar to the effects of sucking helium out of your birthday balloons, except the complete opposite reaction.
Nevertheless, it's still not the best experience in the world. During my way to class last Wednesday morning, I encountered one of the friendly members of the janitorial staff. Of course, I wanted to say hello, being the jovial girl I am, so I attempted to complete the seemingly simple task of greeting her in passing, but all that squeaked out was a pitiful puff of air. My hand-waving sufficed, but it became clear that I was now in full springtime mode - complete with whispering, exaggerated hand gestures and intense facial expressions. Allergies. There was no way my hoarse throat could compete with passing traffic, and I was graciously reminded by a fellow coworker that I "sound[ed] like an adolescent boy going through puberty," on account of my voice cracking every other word.\nAlong with voices that have gone missing, free time seems to have disappeared these days, leading to an overwhelming atmosphere of desperation on Grounds. Instead of watching a healthy amount of shows on Hulu or frolicking sans clothes on the Lawn, those 150 pages of history reading must be completed in a timely manner because of everything else on that endless scroll that is your to-do list. With finals looming in the distance and papers due, there just "never seems to be enough time," as Jim Croce put it so simply. Days are flying by faster and faster. It's already April! I feel like it was just yesterday when I was sweating and soaking wet from the pouring rain on Move-in Day, with my entourage following close behind. Little did I know, eight months later, I would be swimming in stress. Now, sweating and doing some lifting doesn't seem so terrible compared to being busy 24/7.
The pressure of only four weeks of classes remaining and a few exams scheduled here and there might be getting to you. First-year students - myself included - should remember that school will only become more difficult and the stress will continue to mount but that it's important to still make time to be young and fresh-faced. You might have an endless scroll of things to do, but you absolutely must add streaking the Lawn to the top of it before you take all of your belongings back home! After the initial trial, feel free to do it as often as you please, but now is the time to bare it all. Carpe diem, my friends! Although we have more responsibilities jumping onto our backs as the doom and gloom of rent, tuition and jobs tag along for our rickety rides, we should have no worries. Instead, we should savor these remaining weeks, my fellow first-year students, because before we know it, we will be wishing all we had to stress about was reading for history class and writing a few papers. After all, appreciating the present is essential to happiness. Oh, and don't forget that you probably have a good chunk of your area requirements out of the way by now. Awesome.
On the other end of the spectrum, fourth-year students are preparing for the "wild world," whether it be grad school, hitchhiking across Africa or some responsible career of your choice. Regardless, you are moving onto the next step in your life within a matter of weeks, so get pumped! Thousands of memories have come from your experience at U.Va. Now it's your turn to share them! But don't put away your scrapbooking supplies just yet because there are more memories to be had. Right now, for example, you may be lounging on the gorgeous Lawn as men climb on the Rotunda to clean it. Or perhaps you're sitting in one of your boring lectures trying to pass the time. Either way, love what's happening, no matter how humdrum it may be.
Whether you've become mute, been forced to cut back on your Hulu habits or are preparing to climb that staircase of life as summer gets so close that you can feel the unlimited supply of golden brown skin damage tickling at your skin - remember that these are the best days of your life. Even with your current surplus of stress, you'll always look back and be thankful for that breakdown you had in front of your roommates when you couldn't handle the smallest joke any longer. After all, you'll still be laughing about it years from now. Once you advance to that next step, there's no turning back except to reminisce and laugh off the past. When you're about to streak the Lawn in broad daylight, scarring the minds of numerous young children because you've studied enough for your misleadingly difficult environmental science class, take a moment and pause. Rethink your semi-rash logic. Although the staircase of life can be seen as a one-way escalator, it's not impossible to remain stationary at this one of many scenic views.
Mary's column runs biweekly Fridays. She can be reached at m.bruno@cavalierdaily.com.
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