Welcome back, Panthers! I hope everybody’s first week back wasn’t too stressful. I wouldn’t describe mine as profusely stressful, per se. I also wouldn’t describe it as exactly overwhelming, but I also wouldn’t say I’m underwhelmed.

I started my week, probably the way most of us did, by worrying about whether or not I would wake up in time for my class on Monday since I horrendously destroyed my sleep schedule over the three-week break. I was very used to sleeping in until 3 p.m., so the prospect of an 11 a.m. class on Monday morning loomed over me like a particularly large and daunting bird. Possibly more like a pterodactyl.

Don’t worry; I made it. (I even made it to my 9:30 a.m. class on Tuesday.) The first class on Monday was followed up by a speedy trip to the textbook rental service, during which I discovered I had 25 textbooks this semester. Not too bad for an English major. Some of my friends had 30 or more books to pick up. Predictably, my arms were sore Tuesday. Though most of my books are novels, 25 small novels adds up to a lot of pounds, let me tell you. And my arms are noodles to begin with.

By Tuesday, I began to wonder which of my six classes would inevitably become the one I forget to do all my assignments for. There’s a class like that for me every semester, it seems like. Usually it’s the class with the seemingly lightest workload. I’m still having trouble figuring out which class this will be because all of my classes have already assigned one assignment or another. On top of that—as you can imagine, with 25 textbooks—there’s a lot of reading to do already.

I’m slowly coming to terms with the idea that I’ll have to kiss my reading-for-fun time away; however, most of the texts assigned appear to be very interesting. I’m exhaustingly hopeful about this semester; all of my classes are geared toward my future in one way or another. I wish I could transform into a sponge and absorb it all, but I’m sure with the heavy workload I’ve doomed myself to, that isn’t realistic. Well, transforming into a sponge isn’t … exactly realistic in the first place, but—you get what I mean.

I wanted to take the time to wish everyone a fresh start this semester. I hope all of your assignments are magically completed and everyone gains the most they can from their classes. Remember to take some time for yourself, drink plenty of water, and wash your hands! There’s lots of colds and flus lingering around. Have a great semester, Panthers!

Megan Keane is a senior English and psychology major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or mkkeane@eiu.edu.