If you ever hear wailing on the third floor of Hayden Library around 9 p.m. during the second week of the month, don’t worry. There’s no real person in distress: It’s just me studying for exams. If you're really concerned, calling the police might be a good idea.
It's not even a month into the semester, and I already feel tired of studying. It doesn't feel like it's been long at all since I was a freshman rooming in Hassayampa and now here I am, a junior with four semesters left here. For some reason, I feel that itch that most seniors feel: I just want to get out. I want to get a good job and start my life.
I'm feeling tired of marching down the steps to the dungeons of Hayden and constantly going through the routine of finding a somewhat clean desk, a chair that fits my butt just right (hint: none of them) and a working outlet. Then after perhaps another successful (or usually unsuccessful) night of studying, I gather my things and walk on home. One night, from the corner of my eye, I spotted a number of people having a good time in the middle of the night, practicing a dance. Don’t these people have things to study for?
It’s funny how witnessing a simple moment like this brings me down to humility, reminding me that there really is nothing out there in this world quite like college. When I have that degree and am exiled from campus, I'll find out for sure that there is nothing as simple or random as this.
I'll wake up every day, fight rush hour, work, rush hour again, happy hour, then sleep. Repeat.
That’s how I imagine “the life” for me. I'll go from these four years of college to the reward of living a monotonous life.
I hear sometimes from my friends that they always wished they could return to the simpler times of high school. Old people were always telling us that either high school or college would be "the best times of my life.”
I've realized that I regret these stressful times, which shouldn’t overshadow the rest of the experience.
The camaraderie of a 3 a.m. study group session and then heading to IHOP afterwards, riding around campus on a skateboard to cool off stress and my short time writing for The State Press — each of these moments are exceedingly better than my worst moments in college.
It’s not May 2015 yet. My day will come where I’ll walk up the aisle, shake the dean’s hand and move on to the next chapter of my life. But until then, there are still plenty of moments to experience, plenty of coffee to abusively ingest and plenty more exams this week.
Meet the columnist on Hayden's third floor or reach him at vqnguye1@asu.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @TaeQuangDoh
