There's no doubt that college is an amazing time in our lives, but there are a few times during the college experience when we all just want to give up. If it didn't mean failing, dropping out, and ruining our chances for future employment, quitting seems like a viable option at times. One of these times is the week before finals. Regardless of whether you are vegan, vegetarian, or a complete carnivore, there are three things we all will actively consume during the week before finals (or, as college students refer to it, "Dead Week").
Coffee
Normally, coffee is a once-a-day necessity that everyone relies on for basically any class that starts before noon. During dead week, coffee is a drink consumed multiple times a day to try and power through the overwhelming amount of studying one must do while continuing to work and attend all your regularly scheduled classes. And, while we are on the subject, can someone please tell me WHY normal classes aren't cancelled during dead week? We are expected to prepare for finals while still attending classes. What do we look like? Acrobats? Well, with coffee, an academically challenged acrobat is basically what we can become. #college
Take-Out
Between studying and standing in line for coffee, there is no way you have time to make yourself a nutritiously balanced meal. Therefore, there are typically two types of people during dead week: those who will end up trekking to Costco and buying the giant pack of Top Ramen to live off of, and those who will cough up their entire last month's savings to never have to leave the library (or house, or car...wherever you prefer to study). Pizza, Chinese food, Jimmy John's, pizza, pho, McDonald's, pizza....did I mention pizza? Ordering a pizza with friends (or others you meet at your table in the library) is bound to happen during dead week. The earlier you accept this, the better. There is no such thing as too much take-out food during dead week.
Alcohol
You may be thinking -- wait, shouldn't we hold off until the weekend to unwind? The answer is absolutely not. If you are under the impression that you can get through the entire week without consuming any alcohol, I commend you on your attempted effort and ignorance. I am not advising you to give up on life and drink your sorrows away on a Wednesday evening; however, we all know that drinking a beer (or pouring some dark rum into your hot chocolate) is very appealing. It takes the edge off of studying, memorizing equations, and overall stress. Drinking just one beer will probably also make you fall asleep, thus ending your pain and suffering (in actuality, just prolonging it until the next day).
Luckily, dead week only happens three times a year. So don't let the week leading up to finals deter you from enjoying your college experience. As long as you prepare in advance for this endeavor, you will definitely make it out alive. Maybe.
