It’s end of the semester at George Mason University, and in my SleuthSayers column, I talk about the highs and lows of the last days of classes—and more than that, my own coming to terms with the last days of some students’ college careers.
Here’s an excerpt:
I’ve often used the word bittersweet to talk about this time of year. The sweet part is easy: No doubt it’s a thrill and a relief to have gotten through all the classes and lesson prep and grading and everything; as I’m writing this, one fellow professor passed by my office, and when I asked how things were going, she said, “Well, we’re almost there, so… great!” But all endings arrive with a persistent sense of something lost—and mixed in with the “Whew, glad that’s over!” the end of the semester has often left me with anxious little questions and small bits of… pensiveness? melancholy?