I remember being in high school while some of my friends were in college and admiring the lifestyles they were living. Some were athletes, others were in sororities, and I even knew some who spent their lives in the local coffee shops studying away. They all seemed very happy and that made me excited for my journey in college. That is until finals week hit.
I never understood how bad it was until I faced my first finals week while taking five courses. My emotions ranged from sad to happy. At one point, I am pretty sure I started making a list of reasons I would survive if I was homeless.
As this is my fourth semester as a college student, I do still have that stress when the week begins, all the way until it ends. However, I have also picked up on some ways to relieve the stress, especially being a full-time student and having a full-time job. Here are five things you can do the help relieve the stress and keep calm during finals week:
1. Keep calm and take a bath
Once I got older, I started taking showers and pretty much said "baths are for babies." Now, I think I plan at least a solid three hours each week into my very busy schedule just to take baths to remain calm. This is a natural habit of mine at this point, and it honestly helps so much with stress. However, I think it's even better during finals week.
Light a few candles, turn off the lights, pop in a Lush bath bomb or bubble bar (or both if you live life dangerously like myself) and relax.
2. Keep calm and drink a glass of wine
I grew up with a wine lover as a mother. Of course, with being a single mother she always would have the cheap bottles of wine and said "it has the same effect." I think I would roll my eyes because I did not understand the relaxation that comes with drinking wine.
I believe on my sixteenth birthday I had my first full glass of wine for a special dinner with family. It was a 1986 bottle of Cabernet and it truly changed my life. Since then, I have went on countless wine tastings and invested time into finding the best wines there are.
Like my mother said "it has the same effect." So if you are a broke college student like myself, head to your closest store and get the cheapest bottle of wine. Make sure to sit back and drink it to help relax during the chaos.
3. Keep calm and take a walk
One of the things I enjoy to do when I am stressed out and drowning is to take a walk. Whether it be around the block to the gas station for some emergency Ben & Jerry's, it really does help. It allows you to get your mind off what you're thinking about and get some fresh air. Trust me, that is definitely important during finals week.
4. Keep calm and take a nap
Sleep is always the answer in my books. Okay maybe not the books that you are supposed to be using for finals week, but still. One of the key reasons people stress out during finals week is due to the lack of sleep from constantly studying. One of my friends spent finals week our freshman year surviving on eight hours the entire week.
A power nap will do wonders at anytime, but why not finals week?
5. Keep calm and breathe
I have been doing yoga for about four years now and controlling my breathing is something I have gotten really good at. Now I understand not everyone likes yoga or focuses on breathing, but it is a helpful thing especially during finals week.
At the end of the day college is expensive, so finals week is important if you want to remain a successful college student. We all have to remember that stress is natural. Just remember, you got this.