Final Week Of Mid-Year Break: Expectations Vs Reality
Expectation:” I’ve done all my first-week readings and even week two readings!” Reality: “I should really set realistic expectations for myself.”
Much to our hearty delight, semester two starts next week! I know we’re all excited for yet another 12 weeks of joyful hard work, excellent marks and rewarding exams.
But before we treat ourselves we must first prepare, motivate and work which always turns out exactly how we want it to. You know, unless something comes up like an impromptu trip interstate or a necessary analysis of the latest season of Game Of Thrones… #tragic.
And let’s not kid ourselves, you guys. The last week of mid-year break is upon us, so here’s how it may unfold.
Expectation: “I am in-the-know of dates and days.”
Reality: “Wait, what day do I actually begin?”
“Uni’s next month,” you say. “I’ve got plenty of time.”
It’s a common thought that runs through the best of us and it’s technically true. The only thing wrong with it is that the end of July is just around the corner. So really you’ve merely got days until it’s time.
Expectation:” I’ve bought my books and looked at my unit guides.”
Reality: “I forgot to change my password so I’ve been temporarily locked out.”
It happens and even if it doesn’t, your uni portal is infamous for screw-ups with its own type of lockout laws.
Whatever it is, it means you can’t access your booklist and instead of asking a friend, you decide to push it back just one more day.
Expectation:” I’ve done all my first-week readings and even week two readings!”
Reality: “I should really set realistic expectations for myself.”
You’ll have this short-lived burst of motivation for a positive change. This is a change that’ll result in fewer Ps and more HDs, a higher attendance record and a more serious attitude to your education.
So you begin and it all goes fine and dandy until you start to make excuses:
“I need to look at the lecture content to know what’s going on though.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, I’ll probably forget about it anyway.”
“This will just end in more confusion for me.”
“How do I know if I even have to read the entire thing?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll just stick with the weekly requirement.”
Expectation: “I’m going to be sensible and stay home for the last week of break.”
Reality: “When does my flight land?”
A lot of us are escaping the horrible winter by gallivanting across Europe and Asia. And who can blame those who are so lucky? Six weeks is a lot of time to kill…
“It’ll be fine because even though my plane lands at 2am and I won’t get home until 3am, I can sleep ’til 10 and then get straight to work. Yeah, I’ll do that. That sounds reasonable.”
Yeah. Right.
Expectation: “I’m going to fix my body clock.”
Reality: “Is that the sunrise I see?”
No matter how hard you try in the final week of mid-year breask, trying to sleep at a sensible hour just seems impossible. Especially because you still have the rest of the week to go so you can just start tomorrow, right?
Not to mention the amount of catching up you had to do with GOT and OITNB.
Expectation: “This was such a productive break!”
Reality: “Eh, I’ll get around to it during the summer.”
With all that travelling, brunching, Netflix and chill, and everything else, you never got around to completing your to-do list. Things like getting into shape, applying for jobs or an internship… oh well, summer holidays it is.
Steffanie Tan
Steffanie is studying a Bachelor of Journalism at Monash University.