Abroad in Baltimore #9
Sweater Weather
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With Halloween gone and the holidays fast approaching, I think it’s officially time to celebrate the return of sweater weather! There’s nothing I love more than snuggling up in bed, watching movies all night, and baking sweet treats (as always, @pcacooks has all the recipe inspiration you need this season). Unfortunately, as art students our time is more likely spent in bed with our homework, watching adobe tutorials all night, and making sure end of semester projects are completed.
Luckily, we’re more than halfway through the semester so hang on to your hats because the finals craze is coming, prepare yourselves! I’ve already been assigned a presentation, a paper and exam for my art history class, a first warning of the work to come. My other classes do seem to be more segmented than this one, so hopefully my professors plan to gradually ease us into the chaos.
Despite the fact that I only need a passing grade for my exchange credits to transfer, common practice with most study abroad programs, I don’t actually complete my work with that in mind. I’m trying not to put a lot of pressure on myself since I’m juggling six classes, but I’ve kept that straight A mentality from high school that prevents me from aiming for anything besides an A.
Knowing finals are approaching, I remind myself to keep doing my best, but not at the cost of my own well-being. When we’re in the thick of the semester, it’s easy for things like sleeping and eating to seem optional, but they aren’t. Finals week does not have to be a mad dash to the finish. I find that the more on top of things you are leading up to finals, the more manageable everything becomes. So this is just a mini PSA to start getting yourself together.
Trust me, it’s better to suffer a little now when things are still relatively calm, than freak out when a bunch of deadlines are suddenly thrust upon you. I’ve done finals week both ways and I promise you’ll have a much better time if you get things moving now. So start defending that thesis, making sketches for that final project, or researching your concepts. It’s easy to type but far harder to do, so believe me, I’m dedicating this weekend to getting my life in order.
My social life continues to be a shining beacon of light through all the homework and classes. The exchange girls and I love to keep up with the latest Marvel releases and plan to see the new Eternals movie today! There’s a movie theatre not far from campus, and as the only person with a car and US driver’s license, we all pile into my Toyota and manage to get there in one piece. Next week we’re planning on seeing James Bond!
Since I live off campus, the one thing I am nervous about with the colder weather is icy roads. I don’t fancy skating to class so I’m praying there will be enough salt on the roads so it doesn’t turn into a slip and slide situation. The last thing I need on top of my mounting homework is having to complete an obstacle course before every class. The one thing all students pray for is snow, but when you have to drive to school almost everyday, classes seem like a low price to pay for safe roads. In Paris my travels revolved around the metro, but now that I live out in the suburbs, my commute is dictated by the weather. Two entities with relatively the same unpredictability, but instead of constantly checking CityMapper, I’m glued to the weather alerts on my phone.