Sitting in Class

               There is no time for fun, relaxation, and life. College is a necessary element to success, but it’s a sacrifice. Family vacations hindered when they occur. Homework nagging at the mind, prophesying an ‘F’ for the failure to complete the assignment. Ideas and theses rest on scrap paper, written in attempts to catch up, or get ahead, during the brief respites between classes, but it’s a lie. You’ll never catch up. Five page papers wait mocking the return from your short vacation and upon the return you realizes it has always been in the back of your mind mocking. Ten minutes before class you realize homework was fifty pages of an awful boring story that you cannot read. Of course today there’s a quiz. There are rarely ever quizzes. Wednesday two essays due, two different classes, fifty pages to read all over again. All due in two days.

            “What about our essays” a student asks, the class is quiet. Everyone is begging for mercy “I am drowning.” No mercy. Rarely ever mercy, there might be if teachers attended their class and had their homework. They do have grading though, but that is flexible and can be pushed back.

            The policy is two hours of homework for every credit hour, and they’ll use it. You want an ‘A’ you get a ‘B’, you aim for a ‘B’ you get a ‘C’. College doesn’t care for the old adage “An ‘A’ for effort.” Eh, but who cares they have the degree. Life’s similar in many ways though.

            Students versus teachers, but not really. We are of similar minds. Learning being the main desire. If we could see from the teacher’s perspective they would understand, and vise versa.

            The chalk board is a sea of green with white foam from erasing. No words make sense anymore. The ocean on the board moves in front of my eyes beautifully. It takes my mind away from the fear of failure and the desire to give in. Teachers plead for students to pay attention, but the mind is easy to break, and at failed and repeated attempts, desire dies.

            School and learning lose their excitement, but not really. There are just those moments when you have to lose your mind and sit blankly in front of the chalk board, while the entire class is silent from lack of answers. You have to picture the chalkboard in a different way, like an ocean that can transport reality, or look out the window and spot the birds on another building hopping up and down. Those simple distractions drown out the despair and rejuvenate the mind.

            The mind is like a muscle I guess, designed to be torn apart and rebuilt, stronger and more efficient. Life is full of chances, aim for an ‘A’ and you might just get a ‘B’.