That which does not kill you will only make you ... tired: the Hell that is Finals Week
May 15 '00
As I write this, it has officially been 23 hours and 20 minutes since I finished my last final assignment for the Spring Semester. One would think that having done this for six semesters now, I'd emerge unscathed. 2 exams and 4 papers due in a 5-day period? A snap!
Ha.
In the past week, I've read until my eyes hurt, typed until my wrists ached, cried on the phone to my parents, forgotten to eat for 24 hours, and painted my fingernails a total of 6 times. In between those activities, I wrote up a policy memo about what we should do if we find Libya manufacturing chemical weapons, and I churned out a 25-pager on Serb nationalism. I memorized basically all there is to know about Soviet Russia, developed a theory of political freedom, and somehow managed to argue why the US should intervene on a humanitarian basis even when the countries do not pose a direct threat to our security.
Basically, I let 10 gallons of Pepsi and 2 hours of sleep do the talking.
I wish I could offer some advice that would make finals a painless experience. I could warn you to keep up with your work during the semester, as this will alleviate the stress of reading thousands of pages in one night. But you know what? I kept up with a majority of my reading assignments, and I was still plunged into darkness and despair. Regardless whether you've kept up with readings and assignments, to be forced to know by heart course materials for 5 classes in 5 days will always be a difficult task.
This is reality. For all the fun and excitement that college may be, you will most likely go through Hell your finals week. Accept that, embrace it, do not try to taunt it. Do not brag to your friends that you barely studied at all. Do not go to parties or go on alcoholic binges to avoid the pain. Acknowledge that it will be a rough week, and plough through it.
And here's the reality lesson that hit me hardest: All nighters are not cool. Back in high school it was sort of a status symbol - the best students pulled all-nighters. If you could swing one of those, you'd surely get an "A." Yanno what? In college, nearly everyone pulls all-nighters (or close to it) during exam week. Perhaps it's "fun" the first time around, but when you do it for 5 nights in a row and sleep 2 hours after you've turned in an exam in the morning (not like I would know!) it comes to be regarded as a hated necessity.
I'm not going to tell you not to stress out. Stress is a good motivator. I will, however, remind you to sleep (when possible) and eat (make time for it!) If you feel yourself getting tense, stand up and do some jumping jacks or situps. You need to keep your body in good shape regardless of how many more hours you need to write that paper. When you're healthy, a week of high stress and little sleep isn't such a harsh blow.
The reality that is Finals Week is hated by all college students. But the good thing is, it ends. Keep the end in sight at all times. Heck, do a countdown as you finish typing each new page.
You are your own best motivator. Trust in yourself and force yourself to work hard, if only for that one week.
You will be rewarded with sleep and homecooked soul food at the end.
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