It's done. Finally. Thursday at 8 am. I turned in my Junior Portfolio.  After three weeks of hardly sleeping, drinking too much coffee (I don't even like coffee), and staring down a list of "to do's" that seemed impossibly long, I finally made it, and in one piece too.  Honestly, I felt beat down.  I felt like I couldn't get ahead, or even stay level in my classes. There was never enough time. By the end of week two, I felt like my brain was fried. My mental capacity was reduced to mush, and 4 hours of sleep was a good night.  Week three came and the weight got heavier and certain projects had to take a backset to others. It was easy to pick out the students going through their review, there were tell tale signs; like bags under their eyes,  a frantic pace in their walk, and frustration in their voices.  I was there too.   It didn't seem like it would ever get done, and I was so ready to be done.  26 hours without sleep, the night before my review I finished it.  Putting the last piece in my 16x20 black clam shell box at 7:56am. I was the first to arrive with my final portfolio. 

        I almost didn't know what to do with myself. It was such a weird feeling to be done.  But it was so satisfying.  It was a lot of work. It was hard. But honestly, I feel great. I feel like if I can do that, I can handle any project you hand to me.  Pushing ourselves as far as we did for these portfolios I feel like life just got put into perspective. It's incredibly liberating.  If anything life just got easier, and certainly more manageable.   Was that the point this whole time?