The Most Bizarre Day of My Life... Ends the Most Insane Semester of My Life.

My last blog post reflected my situation, my struggle to continue on with the most work and the most pressure I have had on my academia in my entire life. If I go through another semester as rigorous as the last, you will certainly hear from me again.

Anyway, today is a reflection of the day I now exist in, and the one I am coming from.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I woke up at 7:30 AM, in order to begin studying for exams. 2 exams later, I found myself cleaning my room for check-out at 2:15 with the help of two friends. Checkout was at 4:45. So we cleaned and cleaned, and we were running behind. Thankfully, the RA was also running behind, and I barely made it to my checkout time. After checkout I got dinner in the dinning hall for the last time as a resident of Calvin College, after which I spent the next hour and a half napping, checking in for my flight and packing my car.

I then took some "personal time" ;)

This brings me to my 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM shift. I expected to be slow, and to be able to work on the last final that was due the following day (Wednesday) at 9:00 AM. Of course, I could not wait until 9:00 AM, because my flight for Florida left at 6:00 AM. As the close got closer, I began to panic, realizing that I had not worked at all on my final and after my shift ended I would only have 3 1/2 hours to work. In panic, I asked Annette, my hero of the day, to finish my shift so I could begin working on the final. Like an angel descending from Heaven, she released me from my duties around 11:45 PM. I finished the final at 4:00 Wednesday morning.

At this point, I had to make sure I had everything from my dorm, and I had to print my boarding passes. 4:25 AM I arrived at my home, I had to pack and leave at 4:45 AM for the airport. The morning was running perfectly on time. I arrived at the airport, and everything went smoothly (except when they threw away my face wash and toothpaste... there goes $10). I got through customs and walked straight onto my plane without a wait.

The plane took off, and flew me into the sunrise above the clouds. Then on the way back down through the clouds, I was struck by the incredible beauty of the sun on the clouds, and the distant ground beneath it. I was inspired. So naturally, I took out my summer choir repertoire, and began looking at Philip Stopford's setting of For the Beauty of the Earth. That piece finally made sense to me, and there was nothing left to do but to cry.

I am now sitting in Cleveland Airport, Wednesday morning 7:29 (due to the time change), after a full 25 hours of nonstop madness, I sit composed, and full of life.

What a fitting way to end the most insane semester of my life. Enjoying today, and looking forward to tomorrow.

Join me, would ya?

-Ben