May 2014
Fiddling with my pencil
Burnt out from my morning wake and bake
Hoping the professor won’t notice, or care if they did
I try not to make eye contact, or get too close
So they don’t realize that I have no idea what they’ve been saying
For at least the past 20 minutes
Looking at the clock every thirty seconds, I’m shaking my leg
A minute can feel like an hour when you’re just waiting to get out of that seat
But the clock keeps ticking as the lecture starts to sound like music
Music in an elevator, or a waiting room
Music softly coming from your roommate’s bedroom upstairs
I start to doze off again, thinking about what I’ll do when I’m home
Smoke a spliff and watch SVU, or maybe a comedy if I’m in the mood
That goes on until I do my homework, which I then get into autopiolet mode
Reading useless articles, writing long assignments or 20 page research papers
Wait, I wonder what I got on my test last week…
And why the hell is it taking so long for her to grade it? So irritating.
Working so hard to make an assignment golden
When it’s just considered “work” to someone else in the end.
I don’t want to write this paper when I get home
But it’s due tomorrow, so what’s a stressed student supposed to do?
You can’t forget about it, or simply not hand it in. This is my job.
Okay, I’ll see you guys on Wednesday. Make sure you’re ready to talk about chapters 60, 78, 79, and 81. Be ready to talk about them during our discussion, thanks.
Oh ****, class is over. I shake my head to drag the thoughts out of my mind
Grab my jacket and bag to scurry out of class
I guess time goes faster when you’re not counting the seconds
Or staring at the clock
Or checking the phone every five minutes
You’re either invested in time, or not paying attention at all
Until it’s over
When class is over,
Or the weekend is over
Or when college is over.
Burnt out from my morning wake and bake
Hoping the professor won’t notice, or care if they did
I try not to make eye contact, or get too close
So they don’t realize that I have no idea what they’ve been saying
For at least the past 20 minutes
Looking at the clock every thirty seconds, I’m shaking my leg
A minute can feel like an hour when you’re just waiting to get out of that seat
But the clock keeps ticking as the lecture starts to sound like music
Music in an elevator, or a waiting room
Music softly coming from your roommate’s bedroom upstairs
I start to doze off again, thinking about what I’ll do when I’m home
Smoke a spliff and watch SVU, or maybe a comedy if I’m in the mood
That goes on until I do my homework, which I then get into autopiolet mode
Reading useless articles, writing long assignments or 20 page research papers
Wait, I wonder what I got on my test last week…
And why the hell is it taking so long for her to grade it? So irritating.
Working so hard to make an assignment golden
When it’s just considered “work” to someone else in the end.
I don’t want to write this paper when I get home
But it’s due tomorrow, so what’s a stressed student supposed to do?
You can’t forget about it, or simply not hand it in. This is my job.
Okay, I’ll see you guys on Wednesday. Make sure you’re ready to talk about chapters 60, 78, 79, and 81. Be ready to talk about them during our discussion, thanks.
Oh ****, class is over. I shake my head to drag the thoughts out of my mind
Grab my jacket and bag to scurry out of class
I guess time goes faster when you’re not counting the seconds
Or staring at the clock
Or checking the phone every five minutes
You’re either invested in time, or not paying attention at all
Until it’s over
When class is over,
Or the weekend is over
Or when college is over.
