Heading over to school at around 6 p.m. one night a week. Sitting in a classroom anywhere from two to three hours, having to consume and process three hours of information that you will probably be quizzed on next week. Night classes are the bane of my college career, and anyone who successfully completes one of these horrifying tests of self-discipline and patience deserves a gold star on their transcripts.

“But I’ve taken night classes journalist man, and have gotten good grades. They are just as easy as any other day class.You’re just overreacting to get attention.”

No! While I do crave the endless attention of every person I meet, night classes that usually converge one day a week are a different breed of monster to tackle when compared to morning or afternoon classes that meet on a usual scholastic schedule.

First of all, when a student takes a class that only meets once a week, and learns a myriad of new information in one night, it’s a tricky situation. The student is usually expected to brush up, study, and retain all the information they attained in that one night. The information previously learned is usually tested with a quiz of some sorts the next week. But what happens most of the time is the student not only has other classes to worry about, but also a job they have to deal with to keep themselves alive. All these other responsibilities can easily pile up midway through the week. Then boom that night class knowledge that you’re supposed to brush up on can and will be easily forgotten.

This is probably the worst downside for me to touch upon, solely because it says a lot about my generation. But here it goes anyways. Being a youth and having many peers of the same age, I know how we think. I know a three hour class, unless it’s a damn interesting class, and I mean fire jugglers need to be preforming while the lecture is happening, will not keep the short attention spans we’ve come to acquire through this age of knowledge coming at us at 200 mph. Trust me, I’ve seen it and have been a part of it. A large chunk of students just cannot handle algebraic formulas, or long lectures on the different stages of mitosis, then in the same night, being told about the wonderful stages of meiosis.

I understand that these classes may be some peoples only option, and it’s not like the courses are impossible to handle. I just want to express that it takes a bit more focus to do well in these classes than a normal three or five-day-a-week class. If you’ve never taken a one-night-per-week night class, don’t expect it to be a cake walk just because you’re meeting once a week. It requires a healthy amount of self-discipline to keep on top of your studies. So if you’ve never taken a night class I hope I didn’t scare or dissuade you. I just want to warn you that taking one can creep up and bite you in the butt if you don’t take it as seriously as you would any other class.