Glamborous

>> FINALIZING THINGS

If you don’t see me during the next few weeks, don’t worry about me; I’m fine. If you see me, and I don’t say anything or wave back, I’m not upset at you. If you call me and I don’t answer, it’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. If you text me and I don’t respond, please don’t think anything of it.

It’s almost finals, and I just don’t have time for you.

Please don’t take it personally; I didn’t invent finals, and if I had, I wouldn’t have picked for them to be around the holidays. A few years ago, I never would have imagined myself going through this again, but here I am, back in the thick of it.

The truth is, however, I kind of like finals. I started preparing a few weeks ago. It reminds me of what I went back to school for and what I’d like to become. Some call it delayed gratification, others call it being selfish with a purpose. I actually find it strangely gratifying to be able to read, reread and slowly clear the mind’s fog from the material at hand.

Aside from preparing lines for an acting role or public speaking engagement, it’s one of the few times that I feel completely sane speaking to myself. I recite facts or quiz myself out loud. My favorite outbursts are of the eureka/epiphany variety, when a troublesome topic finally makes sense and I exclaim, “Aha! So that’s how it works,” or, “Finally!”

If you have finals or some big projects due soon, let me share a little advice on how to get through it. Make sure that you take care of yourself, eat well and take little breaks to clear your head. You and only you (unless you have a team) can complete this task. If you feel an impending sense of doom, don’t let it overtake you.

Think of great heroes in your favorite movies. Rarely will they be crying about the arduous journey ahead, and if they are, something comes along to snap them out of it and get them back on track to face their challenge with more fortitude, hardiness, vehemence or any other synonyms for strength you can think of.

You must become a synonym for strength yourself.

If you feel yourself in a rut, let this column be the rope you need to get out of that ditch, the three strong men to push your car out of the mud or the nag from your significant other to get off the couch.

The tunnel may be full of mud, bugs and rusty nails, but there’s a light at the end of it. Don’t stare directly at the light and go blind; use the light to avoid low-hanging ceilings, booby traps and anything small animals may have left behind.

You can get through this, and I’ll see you on the other side. Happy finals!

facebook.com/antonglambmusic