It’s finals week at Boston University, and the stress level is pretty high. The fact is that everyone knows deep down that when the last final paper or project is due that we will have it taken care of, but there is such a feeling of doubt leading up to the deadline that it’s hard to believe that it could possibly get done. The thing that separates this week from the typical undergraduate finals week is this: first, the exams, papers or projects are all in subjects that we truly care about, and second, many of the projects are self selected so there is added pressure to perform. For example, I have a final paper due in my journalism principals and techniques class that is on baseball gloves. I love baseball, more than almost anything. So not only is there the pressure of the final paper, but there is the pressure to live up the standard that I would expect as a baseball fan. It’s a gift and curse.

This is a fun part about graduate school. Everyone who is here is here because they want to be. You have to not only have a bachelors degree, but also have had the initiative to apply and get accepted to the program. It is similar to college in that the people here are smart and want to learn, but it is different in that all the subjects are specific to your hopeful career and everyone even more motivated. It’s really exciting to get to choose topics that directly relate to your field of interest. This is probably the best part about BU. You are here to make tangible progress toward your future job. Hopefully someday I will get paid to write feature articles about baseball mitts. Here’s hoping.

Since it’s an accelerated graduate program, I learned a lot in a short amount of time, especially how to cope with unending deadlines and insomnia (thank you spring semester). I can honestly say I am prepared for anything. Meeting-room full of hostile web developers? Bring it. Oral Presentation class taught me the only thing I have to fear is, well, Professor O’Connor. I now have the confidence to speak in any venue, in front of any audience, under any duress.

Surprisingly (though it shouldn’t be), most of the classes I value the most are the ones I’m required to take as part of my major: Communication Studies.

-       Law of Communication prepared me for the ambiguous future of digital law. Always good to know when you’re stealing something. You might say I know too much.

-       Communication Theory illuminated the reasoning behind certain communication strategies. Which will help me as I set out to manipulate consumers and their impressionable minds.

-       Contemporary Media, as someone from a non-communication background, helped set the stage for me in terms of the current state of communication and its possible future. Allows me to be depressed with reasonable cause.

-       Design and New Media II (not required) helped me develop an actual creative portfolio. I even built a functioning microsite – Click Here. Just kidding, I haven’t finished it yet.

Though there is a mountain of work left to do I still force myself to relax and take in what Boston has to offer during the holidays: the Boston Ballet’s annual production of the Nutcracker; Faneuil Hall’s tree lighting, now coupled with a blinding (literally) 140,000 LCD light display; ice skating on the Frog Pond; numerous concerts I probably should have been doing work during; and, of course, the restaurants and bars. You can often find me on Thursday nights, consuming large amounts of nachos at Sunset Cantina or, on Friday nights, hitting up my favorite classy bar, Drink, in the North End (Drink by name and by reputation).

Though I can’t wait for the work to end, I am sad to leave BU and Boston behind. I feel prepared for my chosen career, but I’ll miss the people in the program (students and professors) and the collegiate atmosphere. Maybe I can find a way to stay an extra semester….