THE SILHOUETTE • A9
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2011
We’ve made it through another year Congratulations for toughing it out, it’s been a challenge as well as an experience
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What is your most memorable experience from this academic year?
AARON GRIERSON OPINION
“Upper Decking.”
Dan Hawie
Feedback
“Getting dunked by Yoda.” Katherine Marsden
Time is running out, for the school year, anyways. I for one have faith that the earth will survive into 2013 and well beyond, even if we aren’t there to greet the next dawn. So that leaves us all with the more pressing issues. Classes, assignments, readings, labs, jobs, social lives, bills and the weather. Not everyone might have all of these to deal with, but life as a university student is nonetheless extremely busy. A question I ask myself in a spare moment of thought is how exactly should I manage everything I have on my plate? After extended periods of quiet, I realize I still have no answer to that question. I do realize that year after year thousands of students like us make it through the tough times and busy life of a university student and I can’t help but smile. I smile because despite whatever our parents or “grown up” co-workers have to say, the life of a university student is not an easy or inexpensive one. Finding time for everything in our schedules is far from easy and typically results in many sleepless nights.
Natalie Timperio
at McMaster has taught me. That people are what make life worth living. Not fancy things we buy or the paper we get after spending thousands of dollars and working ourselves crazy for four years, but the people we meet. With those people come the memories we hold onto the longest. Before I get tearyeyed, I suppose I should move on. What I really wanted to say is that you’re all awesome. I’m sure we all have friends we help out from time to time. Additionally, it’s each of us put together that makes the McMaster student body, and I’m sure as we all heard at the start of the year from our president, McMaster is among the top 100 universities and colleges in the world. That means that we’re all awesome. It’s the hard work we all more or less put into our daily lives that make the university as prominent as it is. Well, the students and the professors and various support staff that put up with us on a daily basis. It might not be the end of the year, or my career as a student yet, but a large and sincere thank you to everyone out there and good luck on your essays / labs / exams / theses / whatever it is profs do when they’re not teaching!
It’s the final countdown ANDREW TEREFENKO
as the bane of academia, the mark of a truly unengaged student. I feel the opposite when tackling this The final hour. We’ve likely all trait. Someone who can work under been there, struggling to finish an pressure, disregard the ominous assignment on time because from presence of imminent deadlines a distance, it looked like it would and compress a week’s worth of only take twenty minutes at most. Little did we know, every possible obstacle or distraction would rear The final hour. its ugly head precisely that night. We’ve likely all been Alright, it’s an hour to midnight and time to whip out an A+. What there, struggling to is that you say computer? You can’t finish an assignment find my notes from class? That’s on time because alright, I’ll just grab the textbook and – hmm.... nope, there’s not from a distance, it a chance that I – yes, I left it at looked like it would the library, which is closed now. only take twenty Perfect. Well, that’s nothing that some brisk internet research can’t minutes.” remedy. Let me just hit up my good buddy wikiped – come on! Don’t panic, it’s not as bad as it preparation and writing into one looks. So you don’t have notes, lost night is my idea of a good student. your textbook, and the internet is On top of meeting deadlines despite mysteriously not working. Rarely all odds, the sheer horror the reliable memory, this is your time upcoming due date kicks my mind to shine! into overdrive, and often I find And it will. Hopefully, my work to be better than usual. anyways. This phenomenon of I attribute that to the difference a miraculous increase in mental of wanting to finish something, ability when under extreme and absolutely needing to finish duress has saved me many times. something. Even for baser things, Procrastination is always marketed don’t we work twice as hard to fulfil to kids, teenagers and young adults our needs for food, shelter, sleep, SILHOUETTE STAFF
“Editing articles.”
What I really want to say is good job to all of you reading this. I know many people that don’t just ‘get’ school and have to work their asses off to excel. I also know a lot of people that get seriously dragged down by school life and it hurts to see my friends break down. But I know that we all turn to our friends and even our family sometimes for support. I also know that even if it sometimes feels like we’re not getting anywhere, we’re pulling through each and every day which in and of itself is an accomplishment. I’ve taken some time because I’ve been feeling compelled to express myself in as many positive ways as possible. This is something that can be challenging for a cynic. It’s not like I’m graduating or anything next month, but I basically wanted to give a metaphorical pat on the back and thank you to everyone reading this, Silhouette staff included. Obviously I don’t know most people that attend McMaster in person and probably never will. This saddens me because every person has some interesting story or perspective about life that we’ve never heard before. That single fact is one of the more prominent lessons life
than for less pressing desires such as entertainment and recreation? I say if we apply that to assignments, we get to use that extra part of our brains that only comes out when it feels it has no other choice, or we are trying to I like to think it is the mental equivalent of gaining immense bursts of strength to save a loved one when they are in mortal danger. So in a way, people who do this are kinda like superman, but with grey matter of steel and an eternal weakness to starting projects early. I’m going to start using this theory in other areas of my life, and see if results are similarly awesome. I’ll eat lunch right before it’s dinnertime, to check if it becomes extra delicious. Maybe try wearing my winter hat until the first day of summer to really appreciate the sun. I might even not speak in an argument until the other person is ready to storm off, just to really get my point across. The one thing it might not work for is sleep, as I am fairly certain sleeping at 7:59 for one minute won’t make me feel any less tired at my 8:30 class, but hey, theories aren’t always airtight. Maybe if I make this theory tomorrow it will be.
“Working at the Sil and drawing boobs.” Joy San
“Flooding her bathroom.” Myles Herod
Compiled by Cassandra Jeffery and Christopher Chang
JOY SANTIAGO / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Sometimes leaving assignments to the last minute pays off. Maybe procrastination will work in all situations.