XIX. Note To (OUR)Self(VES) – Fall (Term) is such a Tease -

oranges - yellows - deep reds - trees aka cycle of life - pumpkin pie - fallen leaves

Whether you’re a university student or a resident of the “real world”, (working, earning money, and living outside of a campus bubble), the fall season is a tease. September through December is just a large conglomerate of Hallmark Card spikes in profit.

Your focus is continuously shifted from your work to making train/bus tickets and figuring out travel plans aka breaking twenties to get change for paying the taxi driver.

The hard truth is that you come home knowing fully well that the ensuing week will be even more sleep-deprived than the week before you decided to give in and go home.

Midterms (Penn’s word for all types of “exams”) – Dance Performances – Papers – Assignments – Finals – “oh my (Insert Your Choice of Ultimate Authority)”.

||                            (PARALLEL(S))

Columbus Day = Fall Break, Diwali (yes I celebrate it… otherwise it would have sounded very exotic between the bland Anglicized sound of “Fall Break” and the all-American day of cynicism - “Thanksgiving”), Thanksgiving, Roshashana, Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza, other holidays I missed -

You see the relatives, you eat good food, your weight fluctuates between holidays - gaining while at home and losing when back to the routine of sleepless nights, library/office camp-outs, and being wired on enough caffeine to jump a stopped car on the highway.

The justification you give yourself is probably along the lines of:

At least I caught up on sleep, got my dose  of unconditional love, got to nurse my hair back to health by letting it stay in its natural state as a result of the unconditional love, and now I can better get back to my work without feeling burned out and in need of a study break.

Some say these constant blips in the Google Calendar,  the e-mails reminding you of the eminent end of a “fall break” or a weekend designated for home, (that you receive while lounging around in your PJ’s at home), and that are interspersed in the massive amount of e-mails notifying you of term paper proposal due dates, are ironically what makes the Fall bearable.

That was barely bearable to take in yo -

I concur. The spring (term) is just a monolith of rain, good weather, summer nostalgia, exams, work, school, and many “I want my family :(” moments. The Spring (term) stretches from blizzards to eighty degree days - it’s no wonder that the Spring term feels as though it will never come to an end.

Well, enough of that future talk.

The focus is in the now - sleep or no sleep.

We just have to make it to Thanksgiving = #fallmilestonesohyeah -