It’s February, which means that we are all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for news. From news for prospective RAs to internship responses, it’s the terrible time in which everything is out of our hands! So find a thing and stay distracted while you stave off the panic.
1. Dive into the hellish news that is today
Maybe don’t do that, at least not directly. Might I recommend an amazing podcast called “Pod Save America” run by Obama staffers (mostly former speechwriters) that explains the latest political-adjacent events, from people who have been in the room where it happens. Warning: liberal bent, but sometimes it’s nice to have some people on your side that are smarter than you, chatting about the concerns of the week. They named their podcast network Crooked Media, what do you expect?
2. Actually do all of your reading
You have hopefully not run into this problem, but you might be behind on your reading already. I mean, you did have to write up those applications, have some interviews, and then incessantly jabbered about them to anyone who would listen.
But then your mind starts wandering, and the panic returns.
3. See the SUB movie.
Arrival was pretty great guys, and the 10:30 Saturday night showing had a surprising amount of people. It was kinda fun for me to just take the 5 minute walk and see a movie by myself, especially one that was such a sci-fi nerd’s movie, in the vein of Interstellar. (Sidenote: How did I not know Hawkeye was in this movie?)
And we have Moana and Fantastic Beasts coming up, both of which I missed in actual movie theaters.
4. Go Bowling
I may be taking the opportunity to brag here, but my team is now two-time champions of interhall bowling. (Goal: Ryan Hall winning the Kelly Cup)
But it was an amazing use of a Wednesday night, great chance to be focused solely on the game. Any swearing was (for once) not at politics, but at bowling pins in a 7-10 split. And the euphoria of a strike (or your teammate’s strike) is pretty brilliant.
So basically grab a couple friends, find the next interhall sports event, and sign up!
5. Join a senior’s design thesis project
Yeah. This is a weird one. I ran into some people in the library working on an embroidery project, asked them what it was, and now I’m in a facebook group and get together with some cool people to sew some art. Intense focus on every stitch to avoid pricking yourself keeps your mind on what’s in front of you. Find a project like this, or a coloring book and make something beautiful.
6. Apply for more things!
Submit a paper to a conference! Actually revise any papers you are assigned. Look way too far into the future and look into post-grad plans that are over a year away!
Find a really cool non-profit, local government office, amazing internship outside of the country, and apply!
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