Yahoo! My term paper has been handed in - nearly a week early, in fact. Such a thing is absolutely unheard of for me. When I think back to all those nights in high school and college when I would be up until 4 in the morning, fueled by endless cups of coffee, banging out some paper or other that I should have had finished days earlier, I wonder why I put myself through such misery (probably because an 18-year-old generally feels she has much better things to be doing than getting papers done ahead of time…).

Anyway, I was feeling quite proud and accomplished as I went into the postgraduate office yesterday to hand over my paper - I was feeling accomplished, that is, until I saw that the person in line ahead of me was handing in a thesis (doctoral, I presume) that I swear was at least three inches thick. Suddenly, my measly 15-page paper seemed like kid’s stuff, and I felt a wave of dread wash over me as I wondered how the heck I would ever be able to produce my own dissertation and, possibly, doctoral thesis when the time came. But one thing at a time, I guess. My term paper may only have been 5,000 words, but I think they were 5,000 good words, so I can be satisfied with that for now - and I’ll cross the scary dissertation bridge when I come to it.

The journey out to the university yesterday was quite pleasant. The University of Sussex is located right on the outskirts of Brighton, where the endless rows of suburban houses and fish and chip shops give way to the rolling South Downs. The campus is nice; the whole 60s architecture thing is quite a change from Mount Holyoke’s "Oxbridge" vibe, but there are lots of trees and lawns and open areas for people to lounge around on when the weather’s nice. It was great being out there in the autumn when all the trees turned red and gold (that did remind me of Mount Holyoke). It was nice in the winter because sometimes there was snow out there, even if there wasn’t any snow in town. And now that it’s springtime, the trees are getting vibrant buds on them and the smell of freshly cut grass permeates the whole campus.

As I walked out of the postgraduate office yesterday, I thought about being out there last year to drop off my university application form. There was a similar atmosphere on campus that day; it was sunny, and it was quiet because the term had ended. There were a few students milling around outside the library, and there was the drone of a distant lawnmower, and that was about it. It was so peaceful, and so "academic" (in the best possible way), and I distinctly remember feeling excitement and trepidation and thinking, "I really hope I get accepted, because I really want to study here. I’m ready for this. Please let me get accepted."

And I did get accepted. And that thought put a spring in my step yesterday as I left the postgrad office, just another Sussex student pleased to be relieved of the burden of a term paper and gearing up for yet another term and yet another class.

Sometimes it’s brilliant how everything works out.