Editor never skips a class

By Jonathan McFadden

Assistant News Editor

Jonathan McFaddenIn my three years as a student at Winthrop, I’ve never intentionally, purposefully skipped a class.

Never.

Not once.

Nada.

Sure, I’ve entertained the thought, but I’ve never been able to summon the “guts” to skip a class without any prior warning or take a “mental health day” as some of my peers call it.

The reason was simply guilt.

Every time the thought crossed my mind, I would feel I would let the professor down or moreover, let myself down. 

I would also feel as if I was no longer “the good student” or “the dedicated student.” 

I shuddered to think what would happen if one of my professors happened not to see me in class one day.

I scoffed at the thought of missing some important piece of information that was surely to be invaluable on the next exam.

No matter how tired, no matter what was going on personally, I just refused to skip a class.

Is this a good thing?

Perhaps.

Has it cost me a bit?

Indeed. 

Is being on top of it at all times worth the trouble, heartache and headache? The jury is still out on that one. Last semester, my “good student” outlook received quite the shakeup. It was my last final, set to take place at 11:30 a.m.

There I was, walking into Kinard 308 at 3 p.m., striding confidently -ready to tackle my final in-class essay when I realized I did not recognize one person in that classroom.

Well, I did recognize one person and probably would have recognized more if I stayed in there long enough to make things twice as awkward, but that’s beside the point.

I rushed to my professor’s office and, by the grace of God, she allowed me to take my exam a tad late. 

Still, talk about embarrassing. Imagine how that crushed my “good student” persona in my own mind.

I had to remind myself of some essential and basic life principles. 

Number one, no one’s perfect. Number two, don’t try to be perfect. Number three, eliminate the idea that you can attain any sort of perfection from your consciousness. And finally, number four, no one-even the most seasoned compatriot of obsessive compulsive disorder (sometimes I wonder if people inflict OCD themselves in order to feel competent in our occasionally elitist society)-is on the top of his or her game all the time.

With that said, I’m still not going to purposefully skip clas-nor do I condone it. What I do condone is a time for mental rest. 

I can recall many nights staying on campus late for The Johnsonian layout and then the next morning trudging into class, yawning incessantly and guzzling coffee as if I hadn’t had anything to drink in days.

It’s not always healthy--nor does it always feel good.

Everyone needs a break; now I just want to take the time to find that balance between being “the good student” and having a life. 

So, for my own sanity and for the love of God, I must take a mental rest day.

Being the “good student”, along with the “good Christian,” “good journalist,” “good roommate,” “good friend” “good member of organization#1” “good member of organization#2,” “good member of organization#3,” “good church-goer” and good everything else isn’t the most important thing. 

“Good student” isn’t an official title that’s going to appear under my name on my diploma.

I’m not going to place “the good student” beside my GPA on my resume. 

So, I say relax,find a mental rest day and don’t feel bad about it.