Our day did not have a typical beginning: some Shads stayed up working until ridiculous hours of the mornings, some woke up insanely early, while others did both. What was the cause of all our sleep deprivation? The business plan for our DE projects was due today. Even though some of us had approximately three and a half hours of sleep (note to parents: Do not be alarmed! On less abnormal days we do get a more decent amount of sleep!), we still experienced the day with the utmost of Shadditude, which here at Carleton is a term we use to describe all of the actions and behaviours that encompass the values of Shad creativity, excellence, community, diversity and responsibility.

This means that even though we were all thinking about the comfort of our dorm beds, we continued to work diligently on our projects and still managed to have some fun on the way.

After working on the project from 5:30 am, all of the Shads made their way to the Minto Centre for 8:30 am, where we had morning announcements, ShadNews, and a few ShadSpeaks. There was a Tim Hortons cup at every second seat; a feeble attempt to regain energy so that we could make it through the day without completely losing all consciousness during the lectures.

The Blue House, the house responsible for today’s ShadNews, decided to try something new and therefore presented their news in the form of improvisation. Members from the audience were chosen to improvise the morning news; everything from a plane crash caused by the throwing of a wedding bouquet to the announcement of Canada’s Next Top Model, Meaghan Waller from Winnipeg (and since I am also from Winnipeg, I was the privileged one who got to strut down the front of the room as I acted out winning the highly-acclaimed title).

Today was indefinitely the worst day to be a lecturer; Shads were passing out into states of unconsciousness by the second! As Super Sam (our most frequent lecturer) always says, I do not take any offense when Shads are falling asleep in my lecture because I know that it is due to the fact that this is a highly intensive program that does not accommodate for enough sleep. So although it was definitely a nearly impossible task to focus on the lectures being presented, I definitely induced all of my will power and found that today’s lectures were indeed interesting, wishing only that these lectures could have been presented on a day when conscious levels had been slightly higher.

Next it was crunch time! We had five hours (including supper) to finish the business plan for our DE projects. The process was indeed mentally draining, but at the same time, working with a group of 13 other passionate and driven students also made it extremely exhilarating! Besides, there is nothing quite like the feeling of accomplishment that sweeps over you when you get up after sitting at a computer screen for so long and you finally see the work that you have contributed so much time and energy to complete.

Though today was undoubtedly the most exhausting day at Shad thus far, it was also one of the most inspiring. And, just as the Blue House so wittingly expresses in their 13 syllable roll call (13 members in their group), This Shad won’t kill us; it will only make us stronger!

Nadine Demko
Shad Valley Carleton
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba