Finals.
Most commonly known in my vocabulary as a time for pure panic to begin. For a
whole semester I have continually worked tirelessly to keep up with 15 hours of
schoolwork and remember all the information perfectly for general education
classes I have, needless to say, no interest in taking.
As
a freshman, finals in high school were way different than college. In my high
school days, I would get together with a group for a couple days, make a study
guide and review the material. But this is the University of Texas at Austin.
This is the place where students were hand selected because of their own
academic and unique greatness. So it was safe to say that a final would need
more preparation than a few days.
A charismatic man, whose sarcasm and
wit were something I easily related too, taught my world literature class. But
when we took our first test in February, I can safely say every student in the Facebook
group after the test was on the verge of a mental breakdown and tears. The test
was impossibly specific and mind boggling. The final was 35% of our grade and
was on material from February. I can barely remember what I had for breakfast
this morning so material from three months ago was long gone from my memory. So
I began my preparation two weeks in advance and reviewed every story by country
of origin. I think I am entitled to say I made the most in-depth 60-page study
guide that rivaled the great American Novel The
Great Gatsby. Or at least the students in my class seemed to think so.
When
I posted three separate study guides in the group for each country we studied,
the response from students I didn’t even know was heart warming. Here are some
of the responses I received once posted.
“Are you an
angel?”
“Will you marry
me?”
“Are you perfect
or who actually are you?”
“Wow. You are
amazing and I adore you.”
“Thank you
beyond words.”
The countless likes and comments on
my post made it all worth it. I did not realize that sharing a study guide I
worked tirelessly on would be all worth it by their comments. My fellow
classmates really seemed to appreciate my efforts. I also received many
individual Facebook messages from other students in the engineering, architecture,
social sciences, and many other departments, all expressing their pure
thankfulness and that they were so scared for this final but because of me, I
had given them a better chance for succeeding.
But then the satisfaction went even
further. A girl whom I have never met before messaged me asking for my address.
Stranger danger sirens went off in my head immediately as I called over my
roommate to look at this message. But I read on. This girl, as I found out with
some classy Facebook stalking, was a Kappa Kappa Gamma member at UT and was
asking to buy me Tiffs Treats because she was so thankful for all my hard work
and for sharing it. I kindly denied many times, saying how unnecessary that was
and how happy I was to share my work with others. But her instance was not
going anywhere, so I finally relented and received two dozen cookies AND ICE
CREAM. Needless to say, she hooked me up and was not messing around.
The University of Texas at Austin
seemed so huge and scary a year ago when I visited the campus, wondering if I
would ever meet a fraction of the students. But when I see the kindness and
connection we all make as students, I know that we are all bond together by our
greatness. What starts here really does change the world, and I am blessed to
be apart of a university that prides itself on each individual. We are all here
for a reason and extending an outstretched hand to a fellow classmate was truly
the best way to give back to my school that has already given me so much in the
past year. I cannot wait for the next three years and what it may hold. The
sleepless nights, cups of coffee, and endless groans were all washed away when
my classmates told me they appreciated it and I knew they meant it.
ZLAM,
Samantha Katz, PC '13
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| Samantha Katz |
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