Columns, Opinion

OOMMEN: Happy Holidays?

December is a month of festivity. Streets are lit, everything is peppermint or pumpkin flavored, bodies of water turn into ice rinks and stores try to out do each other with creative gift baskets and bargains.

However, while the Back Bay and other nicer parts of Boston come alive during the winter months, the atmosphere on Commonwealth Avenue stays exactly the same: Boring.

I’m not asking for a giant Christmas tree in the center of the College of Arts and Sciences or colorful lights along the T tracks, but the campus seems a little dull when the trees are leafless, and the sun is not here to brighten the mood.

I moved to Boston from a perpetually warm country, and I will admit that I have a general “No Work All Play’ attitude to life, so the idea of having to study for my first set of college finals in the dark, icy winter is by far the most unappealing and anticlimactic way to begin this month. Baby, it’s cold outside!

My flight back home is on Dec. 21, and I’m longing for that day — not just because I’ll be leaving Boston’s weather behind, but also because I’ll be taking a break from late night study sessions and grueling exams.

However, on Sunday night, I decided to take a new approach to the next few weeks. Sure, getting good grades, especially here at Boston University, requires an excessive amount of studying, but I have decided that I’m not going to let that is not going to get in the way of my December spirit.  Sidenote: On most days of the week, my classes start at noon. With no reason to wake up too early, I often keep the Christmas lights on and listen to music on well into the night.

This one evening, in particular, I grabbed a box of mint chocolates I received as a gift, climbed onto my bed and relaxed. All I wanted for Christmas was no hassle. But just when I thought I was going to get that — no hassle—I heard a bell ring. Literally, someone was ringing a bell beside my head.

One of my friends was standing next to me ringing the obnoxious thing and then she shoved a greeting card in front of my face. In sparkly gold writing, it said “Happy Holidays….Now get back to work.’”

I gave her a questioning look, and she told me that this is not how a college student is supposed to act before finals. I was about to tell her not to act like my mother on Skype, but then I guess she had a point.I was taking it easy, too easy. I had stopped working out in the morning, just so I could wake up two hours later than usual. It was like I was in this holiday daze, so much so that I had completely forgot to submit certain assignments on Blackboard.

“Get back to work’” is a lot harsher when coming from a student. But it was honest, and I got the message. So I guess the holidays can wait, finals won’t. That’s the melancholy truth.

 

Rhea Oommen is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached atrheo@bu.edu

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