Coffee, All-Nighters, and Chocolate: The Makings of Hero

I can't speak for the guys out there, but I can speak for the girls - and I am sure this applys to a couple guys whether they admit it or not.

College - University- the place you go after 12-13 years of school to get more school.  And the time you start wishing, with real sincerity, that school had never been invented.  And the time you start dreaming, with real sincerity, of a life beyond schoool.  Troublesome romantic notions occupy brainspace that you could have otherwise used for studying midterms - you dream of traveling far-away places, discovering a fish species while scooba-diving previously unknown to science, marrying your dream soul-mate, winning the lottery and not having to pay tax on it, and the ultimate - finishing school.

But while such romantic notions are immediatly unattainable (mostly for reasons of budget - how could you afford to travel, scooba-dive, marry, buy a lottery ticket, or get grad photos taken?), there is one romantic image that most students embody unconciously; the hero that has humbly walked and humbly conquered since the year grammar school was invented in England all those years ago.  Our hero is:  The Knight of The All-Nighter.

You think I jest?  I do not!  Just think about it - any man or woman who survives the stress and exhaustion of the week, then challenges an entire night's sleep, fights with the English language and the boundaries of logic and reason and sore eyes to complete an essay, then walks to his/her class boldy and gallantly, and humbly submits his/her burden to the instructor, only to worry for two weeks whether or not it is worthy of a pass - they deserve knighthood and nobility.  Their younger siblings and the kids they used to babysit will look up to them in admiration, and their aging parents will admire the way that two cups of coffee and a box of chocolates could get them through the whole night with enough energy to stay alive in class the next day.  It takes not only youth, but strength and determination and intelligence (and an abundance of caffeine and sugar) to sustain a hero through such a journey.

Today I would like to salute all my fellow-heros and heroines who have fought and conquered the sleepy night, and gone on to acheive greatness through a passing mark on the proof of their toils and labours: the body of the dreaded essay, which we have acheived through ordeals of fire.  Don't give up - Christmas Break awaits you!