Things To Rely On When Your Senator Goes On Vacation

It is a truth universally acknowledged that politicians are not the most truthful or reliable people. Still, abandoning your constituents during a deadly winter storm to go vacay in Mexico is pretty low. If you’re like me and are looking for more stability, here’s a list of things that are always reliable, no matter the (apocalyptic) weather — Sorry, Fled… uhm, I mean, Ted Cruz.

Harvard Mailing Lists

“Please pub to your House and club mailing lists!” It is inevitable that you’ll spend 40 minutes clearing out your inbox every weekend. Then before you know it, you have 300+ emails pubbing upcoming events from the IOP, HCCG, or the 10,000 variations of consulting clubs at Harvard. Even if you’re an email hermit who never signed up to be on any orgs’ mailing list, you can always count on your House mailing list to flood you with pub emails. But hey, at least it’s consistent.

The Zoom Recording Disclaimer Lady

Sure, our world is full of uncertainties, but at least the monotonic and robotic “This meeting is being recorded” is something you know will always be there for you. Let’s hope Zoom won’t mess it up during the next update. They better not replace my emotional support Zoom recording announcer.

Color’s Reminders

For on-campus students, Color is a familiar presence. Three times a week, students are required to take a Covid test. And three times a week, on the day before our testing day, at 5 p.m. ET sharp, Color will send out emails with the subject “Your next COVID-19 test is due tomorrow.” And sure, maybe the tests themselves aren’t always reliable, but at least we can always count the reminders email to be on time.

Breakout Rooms Being Awkward

It has been almost a year since Zoom College became the new branch of Harvard University (move out the way Allston campus). But nope, breakout rooms are still as awkward in March 2021 as they were in March 2020. Maybe connections just aren’t meant to be formed over computer screens. Or maybe, you just need to turn your camera on and actually say something, @that guy in my GenEd class.

“Sleeping Tips for Optimal Exam Performance” Trending On Flyby

Throughout all my time at Harvard, which admittedly isn’t that long, that article has always made the trending list. Rankings might fluctuate with every new published piece, but no matter what happens, Jessica A. Barzilay’s masterpiece will always have a spot in Flyby’s Trending. Despite being written back in 2012, it seems that the message is still as timely as ever — which leads me to our next entry on the list…

Procrastination

Ah, every college student’s worst nightmare and hated companion. Maybe it’s the first week and all you have to do is read the syllabus or it’s midterm week and you have endless papers, psets, and exams — either way, you can always rely on procrastination to show up like an unwanted wrecking ball to ruin your meticulously planned study schedule, replacing it with 10 hours of TikTok and then 10 more hours of YouTube. At this point, it’s like part of the routine now. (And yes, I am using this article as an excuse to procrastinate on a close reading analysis for my seminar. At least this is more productive than YouTube, right?)

While we hope that the weather in Cancún was nice for Cruz and his daughters, the rest of us are just trying to make it to the next Wellness Day. But, even though 2021 is just one curveball after another for both politicians’ poodles and students alike, at least some things never change.