The Grad School Analogy

One of my office mates recently shared with the rest of us in the office an analogy regarding grad school:

Grad school is like riding a bike. Except that the bike is on fire. And you're on fire. Because you're in Hell. 

That gave us all a good chuckle, as we sat at our respective desks grading papers, writing papers, and avoiding grading and writing papers. But another office mate wasn't sated with this simple fire-bike simile, and offered us something much more grandiose and therefore much more true:

Yes, grad school is like riding a bike, but this particular bike doesn't have a seat, it has one partially flat tire, and there are ten people riding on your back. As you reach the end of the semester, you, the bike, and your fellow riders are hurtled down a steep cliff of a hill, the brakes fail and as a last feat of wonder, the handlebars pop off. 

Never being much of a cyclist myself, this analogy is thoroughly terrifying. And certainly if there was ever a proper analogy to describe this semester, the one above is the one for the job. Never was there another semester where I have felt more uncomfortable, hindered, down-trodden, pressured, rushed along, and entirely out of control.

So here I sit on the eve of my final week of finals, prepping myself for the sprint to the finish line. Like bicycle riding, I was never very good at sprinting, but one does what one must do in the face of adversity. So cross your fingers and toes, throw some coins in a fountain, wish on some shooting stars, and say some extra prayers because this girl is finishing grad school. Bike on fire and all.