As finals week draws nigh, I console myself frequently with the mantra, “It’s almost over!” For me, this is a much greater victory than the completion of fall semester, because I will finally be done with my first year in Champaign-Urbana.

Now that it’s time to wrap things up, I’d like to find some closure and offer my newfound wisdom to others. I thought about creating a top ten list of my experiences as a transfer student. But after considering how writing about happiness can destroy one’s “edgy” artistic image (oh, Sheryl Crow . whatever happened to “My Favorite Mistake”? No one wanted to soak up the sun), I thought it more prudent to instead detail my bottom 10. I encountered many annoyances during my first year in the C-U, and after making a lengthy list (with an equally long list of things I enjoyed-but shh, don’t tell anyone), I narrowed it down to these ten as the lowest of the low: a combination of the most aggravating circumstances I encountered.

Number 10: The long, cold winter-and the lack of snow days. I can’t say much about the cold, since I just came from Springfield. But something about this past winter (not quite past, after this week) was especially cold, not to mention the days when we had some significant snow accumulation. UIS cancels class at even the rumor of snow. Alas, the U of I main campus employs a small army of highly trained snow removal mercenaries that took all the spring from my snow-booted step. There’s nothing like trudging to 9 a.m. class in drifts almost up to your knees.

Number 9: The intersection at 5th & Green. Unlike the other intersections on Green Street, this one boasts no traffic light or crosswalk signals. Even the most cautious of pedestrians may be left stranded in the middle of the painted walk, cars whizzing past so closely that buttons may be torn from your shirt.

Number 8: October leasing. I had a difficult enough time finding a suitable place to live for this year. Little did I know that should I desire to move into an off-campus space for next year, I would need summon a roommate from thin air in October-not to mention that I would have been pressured to sign a lease immediately after touring a place, or risk losing it to someone else before I had time to deliberate or closely peruse the lease itself. This is unfair not only to transfer students, but to first-year students who are also new to the area. Here’s to it getting pushed forward to February.

Number 7: Espresso Royale Coffee, or “Aaah! My stomach lining!”

Number 6: Parking. Not only did I pay over five times the cost of my previous parking decal, but I had to park in E-14, over a mile from where I live. Aside from occupying the parking garages on the weekend, I have developed an inane fear of discovering that my car has been towed.

Number 5: Reckless pedestrians: the bane of any student with a car. When driving anywhere around campustown, people (and bicyclists!) will just step out into the street in front your car and refuse to look at you, as if glancing up to see A CAR COMING STRAIGHT AT THEM might confirm its actual existence. Wednesday night through Saturday is the worst, for obvious reasons.

Number 4: Sprawling campus means long morning walk. I used to be able to roll out of bed fifteen minutes before class, pack my backpack, get dressed, and still get to class with a few minutes to spare. Now I have to plan my commute time (and the atrocious weather/cold temperatures) into my morning routine.

Number 3: Saturday exams. Enough said.

Number 2: Transfer credit equals elective credit. For a big chunk of classes which either came from a U of I branch or for which I provided very detailed course syllabi, I was still awarded only massive amounts of elective credit. Now I’m retaking classes to meet requirements, and have no time or need to take fun classes for elective credit.

Number 1: Class schedules: 50-minute lectures that meet three days a week, discussion sections and Friday classes blow my mind. Isn’t college about becoming an adult? I frankly think we are all mature enough to handle 75-minute combined lecture-discussion courses that meet twice a week. I can definitely deal with having a professor teach each of my classes. And for the love of God, give back my three-day weekends.

Chelsea is a junior in English and music and hopes to live through the week.