“Guys, I’m so done.” – Everyone

Fellow Badgers, we have reached the pinnacle of done-ness. Yep, it’s the stretch of school between Thanksgiving and winter break.

Thanksgiving break (our actual first break of the year) was the ultimate tease, lulling us into a false sense of relaxation. Sheltered from the responsibility of school and work for a few days to enjoy actual home-cooked meals we didn’t have to make or pay for, we were granted a small glimpse of what winter break will hold. There were no exams, no immediate deadlines and we were able to see friends from high school that we haven’t seen in way too long. This responsibility-free bubble then brutally burst when we returned to campus to find finals a mere two weeks away.

We also are officially entering Wisconsin winter, when getting out of bed is that much harder and a day above 10 degrees is met with expressions of joy. This is an expected, but nevertheless unwelcome, extra layer of done-ness.

Unfortunately, it appears the pinnacle of done-ness perfectly coincides with the culmination of the semester’s responsibility. We still have homework, we still have work and finals — the decider of GPAs and expected graduation schedules everywhere — are looming. Students are required to put forth the maximum amount of effort during a time where it seems physically impossible to get out of bed.

What are the solutions to this situation? Shortening the semester, extending Thanksgiving break or moving campus to a climate less conducive to frostbite seem unlikely. Having a “fall break” scheduled into the semester sometime pre-holidays (as the University of Wisconsin-Platteville does) would be a start but hoping for that seems pointless at best. So it looks like we simply have to trudge on, enduring on caffeine and late night Ian’s runs, comforted by the fact the done-ness will be overcome eventually. But that doesn’t mean we have to like it.

 Madeline Sweitzer ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and intending to major in journalism.