To the overwhelmed Freshmen who are entering Thanksgiving break on the edge of their seats, frantic about raising their grades and nervous for finals week, don’t worry you’re not alone. I hate to break it to you but Sophomore year isn’t much of a difference. You’re still running around campus collecting last minute things before your flight leaves to take you home for your extremely short Thanksgiving break. Thanksgiving break won’t even feel like a break not because it’s short but because you’ll be worried about everything you have to do when you get back. The 5 things I have listed below are necessities in reassuring you that you will get through finals all in one piece. So I address this list not only to the Freshmen but to all college students who are filled with anxiety and stress while going into break. It will be ok. You will get through this.

1) Stress is Real. Teachers love to pile last minute group projects and tests the week following Thanksgiving break. Why? Because they are trying to squeeze as much material into you before you leave for the festivals of Christmas Break. So, my advice for this is to own the stress. Don’t avoid it, face it. Everyone deals with stress in their own ways. Whether that’s going to work out, journaling, talking to a friend, find what calms you down and do that a lot during finals week. But stress is unavoidable during this time of year. Don’t hinder away from it, because that will only make you sick (that happened to me last year). Become the stress and don’t let it defeat you. Just think in three weeks you’ll be unwrapping presents under the Christmas tree.

2) You’ll be spending an abnormally long time at the library. During finals week last year, I practically lived and slept at the lib. I would bring my pillow and my slippers to help me endure through the long hours of studying. Where to study has always been a long debatable topic. Some say the library, while others say your room cause you can isolate yourself. Study wherever you want to study, but warning you’re going to be there for a long time, so a change of scenery is always nice. Last year I studied at the Starbucks just down the street from my University. It felt very rewarding to drink a Frappuccino.

3) You will get easily Annoyed. Piled on top of the stress is the easily irritated stage. You’ll get annoyed at all the little things. What I do here, to help my get through this final exam stage, is to picture yourself in a movie. It’s a very modern movie scene when you’re walking back from the lib late at night with a stack of books pilled in your arms, while wearing a hoodie to hid your eyes who haven’t seen sleep in the past day. Just tell yourself, people have gone through this before, and probably worse! So, consider yourself lucky.

4) Take NAPS. Take a lot of naps. I know for sure you’ll be up late, pushing 2 or 3 in the morning, so it’s essential you get rest during the day. Limit your social life to napping life. This will make a huge difference on your test results. Also 15 minutes of sleep is healthier than a 30-minute workout. Food for thought.

5) It WILL ALL work out in the end. The most important thing to realize is that everything will work out in the end. I know you’re so caught up right now on bringing up that 88, but with all your effort and hard work, it will pay off in the end. Never lose hope. Give yourself goals to accomplish and reward yourself after you have accomplished them. Repeat after me, It will all work out in the end! I promise you that!

XOXO

Rach