Anna-Catherine Kueng ~ Assistant Editor
As a child, I used to play the Obstacle Course game on Wii Fit almost every single day. It was exhilarating but also terrifying. My avatar, as the title suggests, would have a destination but she could not get there without going through obstacles like wrecking balls, ice patches, and bridges.
When I first started out, the bridges always got me. I would bend my legs on my Wii Balance Board, trying to make my avatar jump to the next one, but she could never make it. She always fell to the ground (did I mention the courses were in the sky?), but luckily I could start over every time I did not make it.
Recently, it hit me that finishing college is like a giant, pro-level course on Wii Fit Plus. Not only is there ice (at least, there was last year), but there is the flu, fire drills, emotional breakdowns, presentation deadlines, and the list continues.
It is like no matter how hard I try to reach my destination, I just keep getting knocked off by a wrecking ball, or I slip up, or I cannot make the jump when I try to get to the next step of college.
When I fell back to Earth in the game, there was an awful whooshing sound that followed. Metaphorically speaking, I hear this sound quite often during the school year. I spend an hour on a one-page paper. I get a 67% anyway. Whoosh. I finally can go to bed at a decent time one night. The fire alarm goes off shortly after I fall asleep. Whoosh. I have a hard presentation on Valentine’s Day. I remember I have a poetry analysis paper due on the same day. Whoosh.
Just like the game, I feel like it never ends. But, the difference is, my avatar could get right back up again. If she fell to her death, it was okay. She could bring herself back to life within a matter of seconds. I cannot, and I do not know any real people that can.
The fact is, college is hard. I know this is not a surprise to anyone who has been to college or is in college, but it is so emotionally draining. I cannot get enough sleep every night. I stay up for hours trying to finish assignments, and I still cannot get them done. I try to get ahead in one class only to somehow fall behind in another one. I give up time with loved ones, and instead spend lonely days in the library writing papers about topics I really am not interested in, if I am being honest.
I know in this column, I often try to write about how there is beauty in difficulty, and college is shaping me into the woman I want to be. And I know all of that is still true, but is it so wrong to admit that at this point in my sophomore year, I am tired?
I want a break. I need a break. I know I will reach my destination (graduation) one day, but right now, it feels so far away.
Yet I know one day I will cross that finish line, and instead of hearing the awful whoosh, I will hear the happy, classic Wii music that plays when someone wins the game.
So I will keep pushing through college, even if I get knocked down every now and then.
