Let’s Get Down to Business

This year has been a journey. For some, a rather tough one, and it is nearing its end. But alas, why do we endure through the school year? It is an epic revenge tale. And what must we do at the end of these tales? Defeat our enemies. This year, Lancers, we will kill finals. We will not just simply complete them. Is that what we’ve gone on this journey for? No. We will endure a week-long battle to the death.

It is your choice whether to die or live to see summer. In any week-long battle, the victor does not win with ease. He must train, and we must too, Lancers. I’m not talking about skimming chapters or leafing through review packets, I’m talking about analyzing text and putting pen to paper. We must thoroughly read the notes we’ve stuffed in our notebooks throughout the year.

We must work through the math problems that have killed us on tests 20 times. Only when we do this will our minds be sharp enough to stab finals right in the gut. Some of you may be frighted of one, two or all of your finals. You might be even too petrified to study, for the fear of a wave of huge stress. George S. Patton, Lieutenant of the Third Army, said these words to his soldiers the day before D-Day: “Every man is scared in his first action. If he says he’s not, he’s a liar. But the real hero is the man who fights even though he’s scared.”

So toughen up and endure, for you will be glad in the end. East is not a place for cowards. Yet some of us are in deep — stuck in the irredeemable trenches. There is that final in that dreaded class that cannot repair your grade without a 150 percent. You can still escape with your honor. You go to East. Lancers never have and never will simply lie down in the mud. If you wish to die in the dirt, transfer to South.

Prepare. Surprise your teachers, parents and yourself by blowing that massive warship of a Final right out of the water. Why, you ask? Have you forgotten the reason you partake on this journey? We must persevere to make all of our hard work worth something. There is nothing more satisfying than well-deserved summertime laziness. However, we shouldn’t look at the prize before we’ve fought for it.

The time will come. You will be prepared for the greatest combat of your year. On the eve of battle, there will be a night of tranquility. The calm before the storm. On this night, you are at your peak; you’ve grown strong with the information you’ve gathered throughout the year. Your intense study sessions have sharpened what was once dull. Take comfort in your readiness, sleep like a baby. The time has come. You face seven deadly opponents in a deadly stand-off. They have swords. You have a lance. You know what you must do.