Finals week is next week... the week that is the biggest, most challenging, and most stressful for college students. I can safely say it is universally acknowledged that finals week is the week all college students dread the most, as we have to study our butts off to take tests that may, in some cases, make or break a student's grade. We are 3 days away from the start of finals week, and lets say that the tension is running pretty high among campus right now.
I have three finals next week, but they are all take home finals. What I have to do for these finals is write 1 or 2 essays, and turn them into my TA or professor. This is the first quarter out of the four quarters I have been at college where I have take home finals, and although the stress is taken off slightly because I don't have to study significantly and take an exam in a 3 hour exam period, I am still facing the stress of preparing outlines, figuring out how to structure my papers, what sources to use, writing the paper, editing, and so on.
Finals week is super stressful for all college students including me, because we have the exams for all of our classes smushed into one week, we may have other projects due, and sometimes 2 or 3 or even all of our finals fall on the same day. The same also goes for when we are a quarter to halfway into our quarter, where we have the first wave of midterms and the second wave a few weeks later. However, I feel that the stress is hyped up for finals because as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, our grade on the final could determine whether we pass or fail a course, determine whether we get that A or B in the course, or B or C, and so on, etc. Finals week often leaves us pulling all nighters, stocking up on energy drinks to get us through those late nights studying, eating tons of junk food or sugary foods to give us energy at 2 am in the morning, and potentially going to our 8 am finals in our pajamas. Finals week causes already sleep deprived students to become even more sleep deprived, and the immense stress put on students on this particular week is what makes taking a moment to relax even more important.
Although there is so much to do in the few days leading up to finals week and even during finals week, it is important for students to take a moment out of their day to relax. Whether it is taking a quick nap, watching an episode of your favorite TV show, going on a run, taking a nice warm shower, etc. we all need to make sure we take time for self care. During super stressful times we tend to forget about taking care of ourselves, which can have negative effects on us physically and mentally. By taking time out of our days to have "me time," where we forget about all the obligations we have during finals week and simply relax, we will come back to our work less stressed and more prepared to face what is to come.
To recap: finals week is definitely stressful. Not just for college students, but for graduate students, high school students, and so on. It is very important to take moments out of your day to relax, as allowing your stress to build up will not benefit you in any manner. You may think that taking time to relax is wasting your day away; however, by setting specific times where you will stop studying for your finals and simply focus on nothing but yourself, you will come back to your work happier, more focused, and more prepared to successfully tackle those finals and do well on them.
I have three finals next week, but they are all take home finals. What I have to do for these finals is write 1 or 2 essays, and turn them into my TA or professor. This is the first quarter out of the four quarters I have been at college where I have take home finals, and although the stress is taken off slightly because I don't have to study significantly and take an exam in a 3 hour exam period, I am still facing the stress of preparing outlines, figuring out how to structure my papers, what sources to use, writing the paper, editing, and so on.
Finals week is super stressful for all college students including me, because we have the exams for all of our classes smushed into one week, we may have other projects due, and sometimes 2 or 3 or even all of our finals fall on the same day. The same also goes for when we are a quarter to halfway into our quarter, where we have the first wave of midterms and the second wave a few weeks later. However, I feel that the stress is hyped up for finals because as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, our grade on the final could determine whether we pass or fail a course, determine whether we get that A or B in the course, or B or C, and so on, etc. Finals week often leaves us pulling all nighters, stocking up on energy drinks to get us through those late nights studying, eating tons of junk food or sugary foods to give us energy at 2 am in the morning, and potentially going to our 8 am finals in our pajamas. Finals week causes already sleep deprived students to become even more sleep deprived, and the immense stress put on students on this particular week is what makes taking a moment to relax even more important.
Although there is so much to do in the few days leading up to finals week and even during finals week, it is important for students to take a moment out of their day to relax. Whether it is taking a quick nap, watching an episode of your favorite TV show, going on a run, taking a nice warm shower, etc. we all need to make sure we take time for self care. During super stressful times we tend to forget about taking care of ourselves, which can have negative effects on us physically and mentally. By taking time out of our days to have "me time," where we forget about all the obligations we have during finals week and simply relax, we will come back to our work less stressed and more prepared to face what is to come.
To recap: finals week is definitely stressful. Not just for college students, but for graduate students, high school students, and so on. It is very important to take moments out of your day to relax, as allowing your stress to build up will not benefit you in any manner. You may think that taking time to relax is wasting your day away; however, by setting specific times where you will stop studying for your finals and simply focus on nothing but yourself, you will come back to your work happier, more focused, and more prepared to successfully tackle those finals and do well on them.
