The talk of summer is on

I just had to write something new today. In part because I'm in a marvelous mood and would like to share it; in part because I need to exclaim my annoyance with the typical dialogue between mostly every single student during exam periods; and finally, to pronounce my joy in that the exam period is soon over again for now, and summer will be upon us once again.

One of the main reasons I'm generally in a great mood these days is that summer is coming. Exams are soon finished, the sun is often out to brighten up the day and tan our bleached-looking hides and everyone is eating a lot of ice cream. The incredibly fantastic consequence of this is that everyone I know can finally start having conversations again that do not revolve around one of the following: The next exam, how many exams are left, how the previous exam went, how horrible the exam period is, how much each of them has been studying. Not only is this repetitive, but it makes for a boring conversation. The last one even has a negative effect in giving people a bad conscience for not studying as much as others, and most of the people who claim they study at least ten hour a day don't even spend half that time studying as much as they spend it trying to avoid studying.

I suppose there is an upside to talking about exams in that it makes it easier to talk to the quiet one in the corner, and it makes it a whole lot easier for the ones who rarely find words to start a conversation, however I rarely find the monotony worth the camaraderie of common misfortune, disapproval and dislike when there is ice cream to be eaten, fun to be had and jokes to be told.

The thing is, most exams at university can be passed, maybe even giving you a decent grade, with as little as, say, five days of intense reading. Now, I'm talking about actual study here: five days of sitting down and actually trying hard to learn something. A few students actually sit down and do this whole-heartedly, and get rewarded for doing so. If they've been at it throughout the semester, it may even result in an A. These are often the same people that manage to turn off their propensity to talk about nothing but studies in the evening when they are done studying for the day. They don't feel bad for not having studied more because they know they've studied well and hard that day, and they deserve a break. Then they go into casual mode, have fun and make sure they do something else.

I'm looking forward to wednesday afternoon when I will be finished with the final exam of the semester, barbecue in the sun with some friends, read a book, play more guitar and enjoy the summer, but more than that, I'm looking forward to a week from now, when the talk of exams has blown over. When everyone can lie down in the grass and see dinosaurs rather than integrals in the clouds and no longer suppose that things are spherical, rigid bodies or in a vacuum for simplification purposes.

Now, to go study hard for that final bloody exam in electrochemistry.