I've been trying to come up with a catchy title for a syndrome that is devastating the '08 class. I don't know exactly how to explain it; the symptoms are subtle at first but soon become extremely evasive. For the most part it is easy to conceal that you are infected, but if you take a second to talk to a junior -- one of the few still on campus -- the infection becomes evident.
I was hoping creative genius would strike me as I wrote the first paragraph, but it didn't. What I'm alluding to is the Dartmouth Burn-out. I don't know what else to call it, but after five terms on campus you just become apathetic. Exams, papers and presentations become tertiary concerns falling in line after social interactions and Facebook.
I can barely count the number of conversations I've had about being ready for a break from Dartmouth's daily cycle. My fellow brain-fried friends lament that Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays aren't as exciting as they once were. Library crushes have lost their luster. Hell, pong is dead as the pinnacle of a weekend's activities. Sh*t, I've turned into a jaded upperclasswoman (look at me, I'm so PC).
I wish an amazing professor would be the cure for this burn-out, but alas, even their passion has a hard time fighting off the effects of terms upon terms of readings and papers. My brain. Oh my poor brain.
Too bad there can't be a disclaimer to sign at the beginning of the term: be kind to me and my GPA, I've been here for ____ terms.
