The Dos and Don’ts Before the Week of Finals

written by Mikayla Austin ’17

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yep, you guessed it. Finals week is upon us and creeping ever so near! You may feel the need to not give a cuss about anything, drop out of school and live on a secluded island away from problems, eating nothing but bonbons. Or maybe you feel like crawling under a rock and avoiding the stress of college at all costs. We’ve all been there and, frankly, this feeling doesn’t end even after graduation. Our sources tell that, in fact, it gets worse.

All of this sounds tempting to do, right? Procrastination at its finest… And, if you’re lucky, it comes to bite you in the cuss. However, this is not the time to give up. But before all hell breaks loose, here are some things to consider in mentally preparing yourself for finals.

1. Pull all nighters. Why, you may ask? Because pulling all nighters means not wasting any time on sleep at all, allowing yourself to completely focus on class material. And you’ll remember everything. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so know memorize absolutely everything, because we all know that everything in class notes end up on the tests.

Did you know, that pulling all nighters also makes your complexion even better?! You betcha… Reducing the amount of sleep you get puts an effect on your body. Those bags under your eyes disappear, and you gain more energy than before. SO… Cram, Cram, Cram.

2. Eat as much candy and drink as many energizer drinks as you can. It’s always a good idea to fuel your body with healthy nutrients for better concentration and focus for your brain. What could be better than carbs, caffeine and sugar? Your brain and body can feed off of this good stuff, and you won’t crash what soever. Promise.

3. No exercise, I mean it! Exerting energy will bring blood flow to your head, and this could be detrimental to your testing success. You don’t want your brain to feel even more overworked than it already does. Having an overloaded brain won’t help you when it comes time to take a test.

4. Sleep as much as possible. Taking naps and not concentrating so much for class actually helps you retain more information. Take time out for yourself. You have put so much time and effort into class already, throughout the semester, why not take a vacation? Winter break is a vacation from your vacation, so do yourself a favor and take as much time as you need for yourself to relax. Time for yourself is vital!

5. Cry to yourself and tell your professors about it. Professors love to watch students have a mental breakdown during their office hours, because they are there to help you! Tell them how panicked you are and how their class is going to be the death of you. They will most likely give you a hug and tell you that everything is ok. Then they’ll ask you to leave to console the next student in line.

6. Invite your friends to hangout and go out to a party. When you think too much about being stressed out, it makes you even more stressed out. Being around friends and spending time not studying relieves stress. You need to be as mentally prepared as possible, and for that to happen you have to be as less stressed as you can for finals.

With all of this being said, I believe in you, and you will do fine. As long as you feel like you’ve done everything you can to be successful and you believe in yourself, the sky is the limit; the world is your oyster. Once finals week comes, you realize that all you have done to survive this week has been worth it all (since finals are spread out and you have more time to do all of the above). Good luck! (You’re gonna need it.)