It's that beautiful time of year again where the library is filled with the smell of regret and despair. That's right. It's finals week. Final papers, final projects, and final exams are all looming over our heads and we're screaming internally (sometimes not internally). How can anyone think this time is enjoyable? Well, I'm here to tell you that finals can be fun. What? Am I crazy? Has all the stress finally melted my brain into slush? No, I just like to look on the brighter side of life. Plants grow better in the light. Here are 10 ways finals can be fun:
1. We all know that one person that comes up to us in the library and talks to us for an hour, and during this hour, we run a negative one on the productivity scale. When they approach you during finals, you get to tell them to buzz their busy-bee self somewhere else and the whole episode gets blamed on "finals stress."
2. Last semester, my roommates and I were really feeling the pressure of the week. We just couldn't take it anymore and we all put our books down and had a dance party. It was like all the stress melted away and I could breathe again. Now I know that if the stress is getting a little too much, just dance it out.
3. Remember all those times you didn't want to go out with friends but felt like you needed to crawl out of your hole of Netflix-binging shame? Well, now that nagging feeling isn't there because guess what? You need to study. Oh yeah, you have an excuse for EVERYTHING. If you want to study in your pajamas all day, go for it. And when someone texts you to go eat just text back, "Sorry! I need to study."
4. You get to totally psyche yourself up. Anytime before a test I try and imagine myself getting an A (like in my dreams). You feel like you really know the material and you just get into a space of pure awesomeness. Sometimes we need to just feel like we could take on the world.
5. You get to see all of your friends who finish finals early go home and you can envision yourself feeling that relief once it's all over.
6. All those moments when people tell me to "chill" because everything is going to be OK. Oh yes, the three comprehensive finals I have on the same day are going to be fine. [Sobs into pillow.]
7. In contrast to number three, that moment of pure relief to see someone not in a textbook is indescribable. When you get to take a step back from all your notes and grab coffee with your friends who you used to see every day, but haven't because you've been hiding in the far corner of the library is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
8. The odd times you attempt to consume nutrition (potatoes are a vegetable, so French fries are healthy?) lead to midnight runs to IHOP and 6 a.m. drives to McDonald's for hash browns.
9. You get to see the amount of coffee/caffeine you can consume before you die. The most I've ever had was six cups in one day. I know many girls who will tell me that's an "amateur number."
10. At the end of the week, you're done. This semester is over and we get to take a well-deserved break. All the screaming, crying, sleeplessness is done.
Good luck on finals and remember to have a little fun with it and make some memories.
