I recently purchased a wristwatch I didn’t need.

To make matters worse, I did so while waiting three hours in a line during the early bird special frenzy that was Black Friday.

I mention the watch because I knew this device would aid me in keeping better track of time as I returned from giving thanks.

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To tell you the truth, I probably would rather not look at the time and hope that finals week will end, like instantly waking up from a nightmare.

I am accustomed to the challenges finals week brings, and I knew times would be difficult, and the sheet on which I lay out my activities for the week would receive multiple slashings from my marker as I cross off things leading me a step closer to graduation.

I enjoy the challenges my courses bring and how last-minute assignments have me going back and forth like a speed bag in a boxing gymnasium.

With this being my ninth finals week, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the semester. I didn’t want to skip the opportunity to write this because it’s something I’ve been considering for quite a while.

Having seen some of my friends go from the university – some with a degree, some unwillingly – has allowed me to get a glimpse of their thought processes while they write the usual curtain-call piece most of my journalism friends tend to write before graduation, thanking their peers and delivering that last goodbye message to the masses.

To be honest, this is not my curtain call by any means but just a piece that allows me to reflect on how fortunate I’ve been to be able to get my studies without interruption.

There are students around me who have been deployed to war, others who have made mistakes and been expelled from the university. In situations like these, I’ve seen the best come and go.

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I’ve realized my friend list has diminished after knowing many who have entered the university in fall of 2002 – when I first came to Carbondale – are probably working somewhere else. As I attempt to finish this semester strongly, making new friends has not been of my utmost interest.

Personally, as an artist and a person, this semester has gone down as my best and most productive. I finally managed to execute an idea I had many semesters ago, back when my eyes had less prominent bags under them.

My idea was to write a column that would be accompanied by an illustration, which amounted to twice the pressure and twice the deadlines. It’s evolved into what you are reading now, and I have Zack Quaintance and Kyle Means to thank for this.

Having balanced a design curriculum with my hobby as a cartoonist for a few years now has kept me on a steady commute from the Communications Building to the Blue Barracks on the east side of campus.

Now, with this semester coming to an end, I find myself as sharp and ready as I’ve ever been. After five years at SIU, I’ve reached my second wind, knowing that I will soon be in the same situation these outgoing seniors are in now.

It’s almost as if I am attempting to get into a stable mindset that will allow me to approach my last semester without panicking about going out to what some call “the real world.”

Many of my friends have left during past semesters, and this week, more are preparing to walk the stage and write off the last page of a chapter in their lives.

Many of these people I will never see again. Some will return someday.

To those graduating, congratulations, and to those returning, I want to wish you a safe trip home. From me, I want you to know I will continue my commitment to filling this newsprint with the best I have to offer.

I’m not looking forward to coming across “The Hawk” that is Chicago’s cold weather. That’s why I’ve made a commitment to get to Puebla, Mexico, where some of my family await me.

But I’ve earned this upcoming vacation. I’ve worked hard – now it’s time to play hard.