Midnight Meltdowns and Finals Freakouts"

Ooh boy, buckle up folks, 'cause this is going to be a wild one. It was my freshman year at college, and do I even have to tell you the chaos that is finals week? And when I say chaos, I mean "four-monsters-energy-drinks-in-3-hour" kind of chaos. We're all just a bunch of barely-adulting adults trying to figure out how the hell we're supposed to know everything there is to know about organic chemistry in a single week.

So, it was Tuesday of finals week. I had just pulled what felt like my fifteenth all-nighter and my brain was starting to feel a little fuzzy. But I was determined. Screw you, organic chemistry, I thought. I'll beat you if it's the last thing I do.

Anyway, there I was, hunched over my textbooks in the library at 2 am. I'd staked out a prime spot by the window, with a solid view of the moonlight streaming in. A peaceful sight in the midst of my textbook hurricane.

As I chugged my third Red Bull, I heard an odd sound. It was like a cross between a yawn and a roar. I turned around to see this guy. Now, I'd seen him around campus before. He was in one of my classes, I think. But that night, he looked... different. His hair was wildly unkempt, he had what looked like a five-day-old beard, and his eyes, those were the most terrifying bit - they were wide and glassy.

And he was crying. Not the silent, single-tear-down-the-cheek kind of crying. I'm talking full-on, ugly crying. It was like watching a dam break. One moment he was sitting there, looking completely done with life. The next, he was gasping for breath between sobs.

I stared at him, transfixed. It was like watching a slow-motion car crash. You want to look away, but you just can't. And then, just as suddenly as he'd started, he stopped. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, sniffed loudly, and then, I kid you not, he just picked up his pen and went back to studying. Like nothing happened.

I was just sitting there, slack-jawed. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but it just felt so... wrong. Like I was intruding on his private moment of despair. Because that's what finals week does. It breaks you down until you're a sobbing mess in the library at 2 am.

And you know what the worst part is? After watching this poor guy have a full-on breakdown right in front of me, I just turned around and got back to my own studying. Because I couldn't afford to lose a single minute.

So yeah, that's finals week. And you know what’s funnier? Amidst all the madness, the guy aced the final. Unreal, right? I guess sometimes you just have to have a meltdown to rise from the ashes like a frickin’ Phoenix.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go study for my next exam. Wish me luck, I've got a feeling I'm going to need it.

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