The End is in Sight

The end of the semester brings with it a flurry of activities: paper writing, exam preparation, last minute assignments, and of course cold weather.  As winter settles in on campus, it is not unusual to see students all bundled up in jackets and scarves hastily moving from one class, review session, study groups, and academic buildings to another.  Of course, the end of the semester is not all work at William and Mary!  The winter holidays bring a lot of activity to Williamsburg and the campus.  Merchants Square at the beginning of Duke of Gloucester Street begins to decorate for the season and although its chilly, the cold weather brings an element of authenticity.  Pretty soon there will be carolers in Colonial Williamsburg and on campus.  Not long after returning from the Thanksgiving break, the Grand Illumination Ceremony will take place, lighting up the sky with three different locations of fireworks and a huge mass of people in CW…the best thing for students of course is that we don’t have to fight the traffic afterwards to get back to our rooms!  On campus, there is a lot of activity and especially tradition during this time of year.  The end of the semester brings its own celebration and even as exams begin there are still outlets for fun and stress reduction.  So much of the campus looks forward to the Yule Log Ceremony that takes place at the Wren Building in between exam weeks.  Its always great to see our schools President and other leaders goof around and read “Twas the Night Before Finals” with a Tribe twist to it!

Overall, while the final weeks of the semester can seem a little daunting with papers and exams, there is a lot of excitement about the season and of course the idealistic nature of looking forward to brand new classes as the second semester begins.  Probably most exciting is the prospect of getting to go home for a few weeks in between. Shuttle rides to airports will be full and traffic will slow on 64 as students make their way back home to enjoy family and good food!  While being home is a nice relaxing break, students inevitably get anxious to return to this beautiful campus and get started all over again!

Beth Mahalak, Class of 2009