Well, I’m not a student anymore, but was one once! So, this posting is for all those stuck at university having to endure a very boring lecture by an even more boring lecturer. All tried and proved working!
- Sleep without being caught! Now, how do you best do that? First of all: DON’T sit in the first row! The further back the better, it’s not advisable to lay your head down on the desk. THAT only attracts attention. Cover your forehead with one hand, stare at your papers and pretend to read them. That way you look busy and can easily sleep the one or other round. In case the situation gets dicey, ask your friend to wake you up! (Hopefully he/she won’t be asleep as well, cause the two of you were partying until the wee hours together!) Otherwise … well, let me say, it can be a humiliating experience.
- Listen to the latest sports game! The longer your hair the better! Guys, you are at a disadvantage there. Since it’s not quite easy hiding ear plugs if your head is clean shaven. The question is: do us girls really want to listen to sports? But boys, there’s always a solution! There are really cool wigs around, even ones directly sewn into baseball caps. Is that awesome or what? Perfect disguise! Just be careful not to shout out loud when your favourite team wins the game! Or loses!
- Actually try to follow! That’s the hardest part! After all boring lectures are exactly that: boring! So actually following it can be unnerving and extremely exhausting! Even after the first thirty minutes you’ll wonder what the hell you are doing there. Now imagine it’s a blocked session and you have to face three or four hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon. Desperation will sink in and you wonder how to survive that! Try to follow? Bad idea in this case! But there are a few more options left for you!
- Have a coffee break! You either bring your own Starbucks Grande Soy Latte – wishful thinking on my part, Starbucks was not existent in my university town – or sneak out of the lecture hall and get your delicious dishwater coffee from the coffee vending machine. If you are very adventurous, head to the next coffee shop off campus. That way you get some fresh air and a break to recharge your lecture batteries.
- Send text messages and therefore stay in contact with your friends. Just don’t forget to turn off sound and vibration. There’s nothing more embarrassing than having the National Anthem playing in the middle of a lecture. Or exam! (Which happened to me once and yes, I, an Austrian, had the American National Anthem as my ringing tone!)
- Daydream! Oh yeah! I love that choice! You can think of everything and everyone while staring at your lecturer! He’ll think you are sooo interested, following his every word while in reality you’re on a lonely island, with this gorgeous guy sitting a couple of rows in front of you, relaxing from your hard studies!
- Take copies of your favourite book and entertain yourself … be careful not to laugh out loud, better take a romance. Hold on, NO crying! The safest bet would be a crime novel or mystery. Less dangerous! Or – in case you are a literature buff – literature. You won’t have to feel bad for that since you’ll expand your general knowledge of the world. My preferences? Moliere, Nestroy, Shakespeare, Kleist, Goethe, …
- Study for another subject – the most efficient way to pass the time even though it’s the most boring one as well. I don’t have much more to comment on that, do I?
- Doodle! Doodling is fun! Remember your high school years? When you had a crush on Michael / Peter / Jason / … and you drew little hearts and initials all over your books and papers and binders and … so, why not take up your hobby again and doodle away? There are no rules!
- Just get through it! Face it! Apart from staying at home in the first place there’s nothing else than just get through it!
So, have a happy lecture and don’t get discouraged! Time always passes … one way or another!
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