It's the most wonderful time of the year—but not quite yet. Sadly enough, there's a dreaded week of tests we students must go through before opening presents and drinking hot cocoa by the fire. We all have different ways of dealing with the few days before finals but here are some stages that I thought were relatable:

Stage 1: Determination

For some classes, this is the last chance for you to boost your grade up. You have an idealistic plan forming in your head—"I'll study for this on Saturday, and some of this on Monday." You're determined to ace all of your exams and make it through the first semester of the year.

Stage 2: Denial

But you start questioning yourself: will you really be able to receive the grades you desire? You start having second thoughts about whether it's worth spending precious time to study for all the subjects, and start questioning your abilities.

Stage 3: Reality Check

No matter how much you try to shake the pressure off of your shoulders, you know deep inside that these grades are SO important.

Stage 4: The short period of motivation

That's it—you're tired of wasting time deciding on whether to study or not. You've got to study to avoid the thought of humiliation and disapproval from family and friends.

Stage 5: Distractions

Your bed is right next to you, your mom is making your favorite dish downstairs, and your siblings keep peeping into your room. You decide to take care of each of the problems—you clean your room, thinking that would somewhat help you while studying, and you end up going downstairs to have a taste-test on the food. (cuz who can study on an empty stomach, am I right?)

Stage 5: Procrastination

The murderer of good grades is finally here. Before you know it, you've spent your weekend studying only a chapter of all you needed to review.

Stage 6: Sadness

This is the stage where you start questioning the usuals—life, school, grades. You're so disappointed in yourself that you start bombarding the candy aisles of local stores.

Stage 7: Acceptance

It is what it is. You realize you made a choice to not study as much as you wanted to and there's nothing you can do about it to fix it. You'll just see how it ends and are ready for the consequences.

______

Although finals may be the most dreaded thing to expect during December, try to look on the bright side. Two days later is Christmas and you have about three free weeks to catch up on sleep. Good luck everyone!