You know it's midterms week when ...

William & Mary students take midterms seriously. Super seriously. Like Jack Bauer takes counterterrorism seriously. I walked into Swem today at 3:30 on the day before Spring Break starts and it was PACKED. I didn't judge too much - after all, I was there too.

We may have a reputation for being really intense about studying - as ESPN writer Andy Katz said in reference to our awesome basketball team, "It's time to take this men's basketball team about as serious as the students on campus must handle midterms" - but that doesn't mean that we do nothing but study. What it means is that when we have to study, we go all out. All-nighters? Normal. Sixteen people study groups? Expected. Naps in Swem? Understandable.

I'm willing to bet if we took a look at the sales of every Tribe member's favorite convenience store (Wawa), sales would rise exponentially (that's a lot) during midterm week. Think of it like panda bears going into hibernation - we stock up on caffeine, food, and who can keep themselves away from those F'realz milkshakes (no one, that's who)? Following our Wawa runs, we head to our safe abode - Swem Library. Of course, with these hardcore studying sessions, breaks are a must. Enter: Youtube, Hulu, and calling Campus Escort to joyride on those wonderful golf carts.

That last one was a joke.

But the best part of midterms? The hours following that glorious moment when you hand that midterm in. Fact is, you probably won't remember them - I took a seven hour nap at 3:00, following my last one. William and Mary students handle the realization of being done in a myriad of ways, though. Some crash for hours on end (hello me!). Others head over to that place they called home just hours before (Swem) to give it one final kiss goodbye. Others, still, decide to celebrate in grand fashion - calling Campus Escort to joyride on those wonderful golf carts.

Still joking.

So at this point, you're probably asking yourself why you're still reading this blog post. What in William and Mary's name was the point of this? While midterms are considered more important than the deciding of our new mascot, the Tribe family still knows how to have fun. From dressing up in costumes and hitting tennis balls around campus with golf clubs to simply hanging out in the Sunken Garden in this beautiful spring weather, we do realize that life goes a lot further than some measly 50-question, 4-essay econ midterm. Like calling Campus Escort to joyride on those wonderful golf carts.