End of semester things.

Apparently I don't believe in sleep. Especially not this last week of school.

What with projects and papers due this past week and finals coming up next week, sleep just doesn't happen. I really just don't have time in my life to sleep. Or eat, most of the time. Eating and sleeping. It's really terrible, because I feel like those are two essentials for life. However, when the end of the semester comes, I do away with them. I propose that school is not more important than my life necessities... but try telling my professors that.
Monday may or may not have consisted of me staying at the library writing a paper until 1:30 in the AM (I'm leaning towards may). Tuesday was me staying up until 2, writing the same paper. Wednesday was the turning in of a semester long creativity project and a paper. Then staying up until 5 in the morning, yeah... you heard me: 5 am. Thursday was me turning in 15-page research paper, group presentation, and turning in another paper. It was great news.
On a positive note: My group presentation went surprisingly well. We talked about adolescents and gangs, and had an ex-gangbanger come be our guest speaker. A+ if I do say so myself.
Another positive: I was so incredibly blessed this past week. I haven't felt tired one bit. Seriously, when one gets 2 hours of sleep in a night, you expect her to be exhausted the next day. However I have been so blessed as to not feel tired even a once during work and class and reviews.
Another positive: at the finish of this very long week of final projects, we had a Chinese Murder Mystery date. Details are forthcoming. Don't even worry.


So I've come to the conclusion that teachers think it's hilarious to assign semester long projects that are due the last week of class (aka 1-2 weeks after Thanksgiving). They do not actually intend for you to work on these projects all semester. They just want to make you have a mental break-down the last two weeks. They assign these projects in the syllabus and briefly mention them the first day of class and then don't talk about them again for months until 3 weeks before they are due.

The student thought processes on semester long projects:
September: "Do we have something due at the end of the semester? Eh, that's months away. No need to worry about it now."
October: "Our teacher mentioned something about a project in class today... maybe I should figure out what that is.... Nah! That's not until after Thanksgiving, that's not for two months!"
Early November: "I finally read the assignment description for that project, it seems like a lot of work. I should start that or something."
Mid-November: "I really will start that project over Thanksgiving break! I have so much free time that weekend! I'm totally going to get it all done!"
Thanksgiving Break: "Nom nom nom nom!!!!"
Monday after Thanksgiving: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! That project is due in one week!!!!!!! I'm going to freaking die!!!! Oh no! And the project for this other class is due. And the one for this other class!"

Professors who assign semester long projects just think it's wonderful to give you a false sense of security and then BAM make you realize that you fail at time management. And their class. These professors know well enough how college students work, I mean I'm sure at some point in their lives they were college students too. They know how procrastinating works and they know it is inevitable. Yet they continue to assign them and I continue to get no sleep for a week straight while I do a semesters worth of work in that one week.
I don't see the humor. Maybe I will once I get some sleep.