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<\/p>\ni can finally say i\u2019ve finished my first round of college finals. and to be honest, i went into it thinking i was utterly and completely doomed. i figured, over the course of the two testing weeks, i would lose all sense of self. pull so many all-nighters that i would pass for a zombie. cry in the shower as i cracked under the pressure. study in the fetal position until i gave up entirely.<\/p>\n
it is with distinct pleasure that i can affirm none of these things actually happened.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
and it occurred to me, on my taxi ride to laguardia airport, that so much of my initial weariness for my college finals came, really, just from the hype of other people. it\u2019s not like i had any bad prior experience that told me it was going to be sole-crushing. i sort of, well, assumed it naturally \u2013 which i\u2019m beginning to realize is one of the easiest traps to fall into. with that thought in mind, i figured i might try to \u201cdebunk\u201d some of the most commonly depicted stereotypes.<\/p>\n
1. you have to lock yourself in the library<\/p>\n
believe it or not, there are \u2013 in fact \u2013 other places that are available for doing work. and you\u2019ll quickly discover that the main libraries on your campus tend to be obscenely full during finals week anyways\u2026 to the point where it\u2019s difficult to find a single seat. also, often times, staying in the same place every time you study can prove pretty draining. for the sake of your sanity, i highly recommend mixing it up and frequenting cafes, empty classrooms, dorm rooms, parks, even dining halls.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2. there is no sleeping<\/p>\n
sleeping is not some right denied to you in the face of exam season. yes, there are going to be those crazies who somehow decide the best way to optimize their skills is through never resting, psyching themselves out, and depending on copious amounts of coffee (and in scary cases, other things). but i want to stress as much as possible that operating at 200% is not necessary to be a successful student. in fact \u2013 it tends to be pretty detrimental (especially long term). college is one of the most important places to prioritize self care, so as long as you manage your time and stress decently well, you\u2019ll be able to get enough hours of shut eye.<\/p>\n
3. \u201cdead week\u201d isn\u2019t going to kill you<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
if right now you\u2019re going, \u201cwhat in the world is dead week?\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s basically a handful of free days after classes end where you have no responsibilities other then gearing up for your finals. and there\u2019s a reputation that people use it to frantically cram\/not eat\/forget to shower. the thing is though, that if you\u2019ve been putting in the work all semester along, dead week is actually kind of\u2026 nice. i mean, nice in the sense that you get to be in charge of your own schedule \u2013 controlling when you eat, work out, and so on. plus, you\u2019ll quickly realize that it isn\u2019t totally possible to study for 12+ hours straight. especially not when you\u2019ve had a final earlier that day. it\u2019s all about picking your moments of concentration.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
4. you\u2019re on your own<\/p>\n
finals week is one of those things that is unifying in its isolation. it\u2019s true that no one will be able to fully relate to your mental state. and most people will not have the exact same schedule of tests as you do. but at the end of the day, we\u2019re all going to have that same little bit nervousness and apprehension. we\u2019re all going to want to do well. because of that, it\u2019s pretty painless to find a study partner \u2013 or even just a venting buddy. a lot of professors, too, will be more available with their office hours and more responsive with their email. think of it as one, college-wide bonding experience; and it\u2019ll be over before you know it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
i can finally say i\u2019ve finished my first round of college finals. and to be honest, i went into it thinking i was utterly and completely doomed. i figured, over the course of the two testing weeks, i would lose all sense of self. pull so many all-nighters that i would pass for a zombie. cry in the shower as i cracked under the pressure. it is with distinct pleasure that i can affirm none of these things actually happened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24904],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n