It’s Still Reading Week…Right?

With the passing of reading week, somewhat begrudgingly, this past Monday marked the restart of classes. While the break definitely provided a much-needed period of rest, trying to get back into a school mindset the past couple of days has been quite the challenge. When we were in high school, spring break was the closest equivalent, but the difficulty levels of the courses puts the re-adjustment period on a level of its own. Reading week really is a double-edged sword. On one end, you’ve got the promise of some time unconstricted by schoolwork. In the weeks prior to the break, I had a pretty hectic (to say the least) set of midterms that made the grass look way greener on the other side of the weekend. When that Friday rolled around, I couldn’t possibly have waited a moment longer, and kickstarted things by catching Deadpool on its first day at the box office (11/10, a must-watch in my totally unqualified opinion). I recapped most of last week in my previous post, so I’ll spare you the redundancy, but it really provided me with the rest I needed to head back into the rigors of academia. The only problem was, it didn’t actually do much in the way of actually motivating me to return to that state of mind.

In a way, it’s like coming back from winter vacation. Going from waking up at times that weren’t restricted by 9AM classes, to having a quiz at that time on the very first day back, did little to ease me back into the rigmarole. Getting out of bed that morning compared to the days preceding it was similar to what happens to a sponge when it gets soaked - it just gets a whole lot heavier. It’s times like this that some #JoyAtUofT is desperately needed. Seeing the temperature actually rise into positive values was a great way to end the week. Also, thanks to an invitation from a friend, I did manage to get out and shoot one last time before school started again. Accordingly, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time the past few days going through and editing those photos, which has provided me with a massive morale-booster. It’s helped me cope with the sudden spike back to pre-reading-week stress levels, and as a result I’ve been able to function way better during lectures.

Hopefully the rest of us first-years had a relaxing reading week as well, and are transitioning back into the school mindset. It’s tough, as I’m sure many upper years can affirm, but it’s just one of the ways that we’re adjusting to life as U of T students.