Finals: Better In College?

All throughout high school I had finals after Winter Break.  Coming back to school after Thanksgiving and having to buckle down to study now seems strange to me.  I was used to having more time both to learn and to prepare for these tedious tests.  However, now, although I am still stressed, I am starting to see the upside to having finals before Winter Break.  For one thing, with such a long Winter Break ahead of us, that is a large opportunity to forget everything (or a fair amount) that we have worked so hard to learn over the course of the semester.  With finals before, now the concepts and facts are still fresh on our minds.  Also, Winter Break is now actually a full-fledged break.  There is no guilt over "forgetting" to study over break, mainly because there is no studying.  As a hard working student who spent a semester studying and learning, it is nice to have a relaxing break with literally no schoolwork.  However, now I do feel the pressure to study over Thanksgiving.  This past Thanksgiving, I did bring some of my school books home, in hopes that I would have time to catch up on some reading and maybe even work ahead.  At times when "Family Bonding" was required, this was quite a nice excuse.  But since Thanksgiving is so short, I didn't accomplish nearly all that I had hoped.  

Did anyone else have finals after Winter Break in high school?  And if so, which system do you like more?  

Working Girl

            I worked all through high school.  I worked through the entire summer.  As I was getting ready to leave for school this past fall, my dad sat me down to have “a chat.”  He wanted to express his concern about me wanting a job for freshman year at school.  As a college student, neither he nor my mom worked, and he seemed confident that I could make it through school without a job.  Also, I have a cousin who recently dropped out of college to focus more on his part-time job, and this idea scared my dad a lot.  My warning to him was that if I wasn’t working, I’d be calling and asking for money quite a bit more.  He didn’t seem to believe that. 

            Within the first few weeks of school, I noticed that I had a lot of free time.  I loved having new friends and being in a new city, but the repercussions were costly.  A new city meant new shops, new restaurants, and a lot of time to explore all of these.  It didn’t take long before the small budget my dad gave me was gone, and he wasn’t happy to hear that from me.  However, I had a solution.  I wanted a job.  Without telling him or my mom, I went to stores close to campus with a resume and a willingness to work.  I figured that if I could find an employer that was willing to work with my schedule and prove to my parents that this would not interfere with schoolwork that it would be allowed.  I was right. 

            Now I spend two days during the week and one day each weekend working, and I love it.  My grades have stayed consistent, and I’ve found that I’m more focused when doing my homework now that I actually have a limited time to get it done.  However, I’ve noticed that the majority of students here don’t have jobs, and seem to find it strange that I want to work.  Is said drive not normal?  And did anyone else’s parents have reservations about working in this new environment?