Friday, March 20, 2015

Five Favorites: Post-Exam-Elation!

last lecture of the semester!

It over! Today is the last day of this semester and my last exam is behind me.  Without diminishing or disrespecting the civil rights movement in any way, I would like to sing out: free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I'm free at last! Thanks for bearing with me during my moments of frustration and complaining. Those last few weeks felt like a sprint at the end of a marathon, but all went well and now....

Well. Now....what? The end of the semester always feels a little anticlimactic. Yes, we go out to celebrate but sometimes crossing the finish line still feels like deflating a balloon. So in an effort to really savor the moment, here are five totally trivial things I will especially enjoy doing again now that these exams are over.

1. Doing Laundry. ie, wearing clothes that are truly clean and not some acceptable approximation of the concept.  I have to say, Karl has been a hero on the home front,  keeping the fridge full, the dishes washed, and the laundry basket below overflowing level while I've been buried behind textbooks. Still, the prospect of extending my wardrobe beyond those last-choice-everything-else-is-dirty options will be a joy.

2. Get moving. While I generally try to squeeze a healthy amount of exercise into an average week, I have to admit it's the first thing that goes when I get busy. I insist on walking/biking to school or the library so that I'm active and out in the fresh air at least twice a day, but I'm excited to really get my sweat on and see how my badly-neglected body does after these weeks at a desk (often slumped over. Sorry,  lower back!)

3. Binge watch shows. Don't even tell me what Olivia Pope is up to right now. Seriously. No spoilers.

4. Cooking and eating something that takes more than 10 minutes to make.  Unlike the early years of medical school, I still eat pretty healthy during exam time, but usually it's something veggy and bulgar/quinoa-y that can be thrown together super quickly. I made the mistake of bringing these delicious cookies with me to the library a few weeks ago and Sophie and I cajoled the guys into baking these amazing brownies for us -- on two different occasions. But other than that, I've been good about eating right lately, despite exam stress. I'm so happy with myself about this -- mens sana in corpore sano, and I feel much better during those marathon study sessions when my body is fueled by real food and not bloated from a salt-and-vinegar-chips binge.

5. Catch up on news. I didn't even know there was a solar eclipse today until it was too late -- that's how out of the loop I am. I can't wait to sit down with my laptop and find out what has been going on in the world since I went into library hibernation. Israeli elections? Some kind of magical, color-changing dress? I am waaaay behind right now!

Look up at the Sky!

Zanna

PS. Five Favorite ways to welcome spring, things about my birthday, and romantic movies!

3 comments:

  1. wooooooooooo-hooooooooooo!!!!! you made it-out-alive, on the other side!!!!!!!!!! hugs, hugs, hugs, hugs, hugs..

    proud of you, for continuing to eat well, during... that is a real accomplishment. nothing like a whole lot of stress, to blow healthy eating right off the planet. you did gooood!!!!

    enjoy the simple things, which you can resume doing now.

    mmmmm, other than too much news... unless you can actually do something about it, that is. there is always so much horror, over which we have no control, but which still makes us feel so rotten... well... I am "olden" and you are young, and we would have differing opinions on a topic like this. so, we each do our own thing. ,-))))

    happy for you hugs!
    exam time is over!
    Tessa

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  2. Haha this is the best time of the school year - I'm just 3 weeks away from being done exams and I am SO excited to do exactly what this little list says, except, also trying to find a job because I'll actually be graduating this year haha!

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  3. Sounds like the perfect list now that exams are over :) Especially catching up on tv-shows and cooking nice meals! That's the perfect way to unwind now that you can relax a bit. Hope you've had a lovely weekend.

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