Reading:

January may not be autumn, but its first two weeks envelop students in the fall reading period nonetheless. It’s that almost-free-but-fretful time after the holiday break, when regular class sessions have ended but term papers are due and exams loom.

After holiday trips home and the blissful forgetfulness found in family gatherings and too much food, it was “Oh, yeah, I remember this” time as students got back to their academic reality and buckled down once again.

Across the Harvard campus, students sat at computers in their dormitory rooms. They toiled behind stacks of books in library cubicles. They stretched out in lounges among printouts and pages of notes.

Between the studying, writing, and researching were shoehorned naps, midnight snacks, and late-night breaks to blow off some steam and watch a few flicks.

It all starts to pay off this week though. Exams began Monday (Jan. 13) and end their nail-biting, sleep-depriving run next Wednesday (Jan. 22).

But when you walk outside after that last exam to breathe the fresh air of freedom, don’t pause too long to celebrate. Spring classes begin on the 29th.