I’ve finally reached the end of my hellish week and a half of papers and midterms, and boy does it feel good. Now I’m looking forward to a stress-free spring break in California. For those of you still plugging away, best of luck to you—and quit procrastinating!
The last few weeks have been abundant with major and minor breakdowns; desperate emails requesting extensions; and a fair share of all-nighters. I didn't have to pull one this week, but its surprisingly common. Several girls in my hall held all-nighter study parties in the common room this week, or came into the bathroom at 8 am still not having gone to bed. Why do we do this to ourselves?? Do the evil TrinColl professors really assign such great quantities of work that we are forced to spend 12 hours per night absorbing it all? I understand the dilemma of having a ten-page research paper due tomorrow, and, of course, starting it the night before. We’ve all been down that road. Distractions are abundant, thanks to Facebook stalking, StumbleUpon, and YouTube. Some of us just work better under pressure, so saving a paper for the day it’s due is the only way to get it done. But all-nighters can’t be good for you. Trin has got to be fostering one of the unhealthiest lifestyles possible—we barely sleep on weekends, share drinks and swap spit, and eat god-awful Mather food. Those weeknight hours of slumber are valuable! And I can’t imagine that staying up all night studying for a test is conducive to a good test performance.
Another subject that goes hand in hand with pulling all-nighters is Adderall. Its abundance on this campus is astounding! Getting a prescription in the first place is a piece of cake; tell a doctor you have “trouble focusing” and she’ll scrawl a prescription faster than you can pop a pill. Everything is easier medicated, right? Even if you don’t have a prescription, you must have a friend who does. It’s almost too easy to bum a dose off them, or buy it if they insist. (Some friends they are, huh?) Most people who take Adderall before a test or study session swear by its effects. It’s a stimulant, so it keeps you awake and keeps you focused. It increases your heart rate and may cause shaking or sweating, depending on the dosage, but it also allows you to plow through textbooks like it’s your job. I’ve never taken Adderall as a homework helper, but it’s awfully tempting. Wouldn’t it be nice to feel alert and focused, ready to tackle anything? I get distracted easily, but I think it’s more due to the Internet than ADHD.
Adderall abuse is illegal, that’s for sure. There are heavy consequences for both dealing and using non-prescription Adderall. Check out webmd.com for more information. It gives users an unfair advantage over students who choose to do their work the natural way. Is it a form of cheating? I can see the side that says yes, but it’s complicated because so many people use it legitimately. Once you use Adderall for a really stressful night, won’t it be easier to use it every time you have a big test or paper? The bottom line is that taking Adderall may be effective, and help you perform better in school, so it’s not typically thought of as a “drug” the way other narcotics are. But it’s exactly that, and abusing it may lead to serious consequences.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just plan ahead, study a little bit each day, feel totally prepared, and get eight hours of sleep the night before a test?
Come on, like that’s ever gonna happen.
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