If there’s one thing we all hate, it’s final exams – unless you’re one of the lucky ones with very few to worry about. All semester we spend a great deal of time deciding between homework or friends, papers or partying. But in this last week, everything seems to creep up on you and you feel the need to say “Whoa! What was that?! Where did all that come from?”

But alas, there it all is. The tiny things, like last minute readings, and sometimes even the not so tiny – papers or projects put off to the last minute – rear their ugly heads and their due dates just happen to coalesce right when it’s the most inconvenient: the week before finals. Sometimes that’s our fault, but sometimes we wonder if professors assign it like that just to be funny.

But hey, there is always a silver lining and we just have to find it. One I’ve recently noticed is the decorations the dorms and various clubs have put up. In my own Biever Hall, every time I walk in or out I see the Christmas tree all lit up, and snow flakes hanging from the ceiling, and it makes me think of home.

Which of course then takes me to the mental countdown: X number of days left to study, X number of days till finals week, X number of days till I get to fly home, etc.

One thing I am really looking forward to, something I’m sure that everyone has seen the signs for and had another “What is that?!” moment, is the snow! No, not actual snow in New Orleans, but it’s the closest thing we’ll get to it. Thanks to the University Programming Board, on Dec. 6 in the Horseshoe there will be 20 tons of snow brought in. Not to mention Santa Clause and hot chocolate and I must admit, I’m really excited about the hot chocolate part. I’m a North Carolina girl which means I’ve actually kind of welcomed this recent cold streak, so I’m one of the few hoping it’ll stick around for the UPB snow event to help set the winter scene.

Another thing I find comforting is the decorations in our Orleans room, fondly known as the OR – which we all know is highly amusing when said around someone who doesn’t understand the context, as they assume we eat in an operating room. I’m sure there are a few of us who have tripped over the cords a time or two, but it still seems worth the hassle to dodge the tree with its presents underneath just to be able to look at it. New Orleans doesn’t have much of a winter in the conventional sense, but the snow flakes hanging from the ceiling, which I will admit I only noticed recently, help to convey the possibility that it’s cold or maybe even snowing outside.

One thing I enjoy about college as compared to public high school is the lack of controversy over religious holidays. In high school, it was frowned upon to say “Merry Christmas.” “Happy Holidays” was the preferred method of wishing someone a good winter break, even though most of us called it Christmas break anyway.

I have to say, I originally thought that the decorations would make me homesick, but instead they just make me smile. They make me set my mind on getting everything I have to get done ready, because then I get out all the faster. Granted I will miss new friends and I’m not looking forward to answering to the higher power also knows as the parental units, but when I get home I get to decorate my own tree and wrap presents, enjoy holiday music and time with family and the old friends I managed to hold onto. I’m sure that almost everyone is eager to celebrate in their own way. And if nothing else, we can all celebrate the fact that after finals, no more work is due.

Lexie Vadney is an English writing freshman from Charlotte, N.C.