One of Those Moments

I am a TA for a large organic chemistry class (157 students) at my university (I'll have to write about that someday. Basically, this means that I do all the work and the professor golfs...). Right now, I'm sitting in the Science Building, waiting for my class to arrive. They'll be here in about 15 minutes.

This has been a really hard day. I had (literally) 1 hour of sleep last night, an 8 a.m. Immunology exam, a 12 p.m. Molecular Evolution exam, 3 lectures in between those tests, numerous calls and e-mails from my students (because they learned today that there will be a quiz Friday), research to complete in between all this, and I feel like I've not had a single moment to breathe. Looking forward, I get anxious when I realize that I have 5 exams, 7 lab reports, 10 quizzes, two term papers, six finals, and a senior capstone research project (with accompanying oral presentation to be given at my state's capital) to complete in the next month before I can graduate. God help me.

But now, I am having one of those moments (and I'm really glad there's a computer here so I can capture this feeling)--a moment in all the busyness when I'm alone and can gather myself. The lights in this very large classroom are dimmed, the walls and floor are the earth-tone colors typically found in science buildings. The desks are lined up neatly; the room smells like coffee...I think there is a lounge next door... There are posters on the walls of photographs taken by the Hubble Telescope...they're incredible. The air conditioner is humming and making the room very comfortable in this unexpected March heat. The chair I'm sitting in is unusually relaxing; best of all, it's so very quiet. This moment feels unexpectedly surreal...I've spent so much time in this building--hours upon hours upon hours. Now, I'm 36 days from never coming here again. It's bittersweet because I do love my school...and it's so exciting that I feel like crying tears of joy and relief. I certainly can't explain why, but in this moment I've caught my breath and feel totally inspired to attack the rest of this semester enthusiastically.

What a difference 15 minutes can make.