With finals looming ahead, everyone is preparing for the oncoming assault of late-night study sessions and early morning cramming. Students are gearing up to trudge through the week, hoping to make it out alive. Everyone has expectations of what finals week will bring this time around. What is reality and what are just theories, though? What should you really expect? The only way to know for sure is to keep reading and find out!
The Weekend
Expectation
You are going to knuckle down and study all day, every day. You've let procrastination rule in the past, but not this time! There will be no excuses, no distractions, and absolutely no Netflix. You will be wholly committed to your studies, and no one (and no television show) is going to stop you from being 110 percent focused on preparing for the upcoming exam week. It's almost game day, and this is your window of opportunity to make sure you are ready, so you won't waste a second.
Reality
What's the rush? You have all weekend! One show won't hurt you...right? Flash forward to Saturday night, and you've gotten a lot done! Really, it is quite an accomplishment that you completed the entire first season of "Once Upon a Time." Don't panic, though, because you have all of Sunday to get cracking, and you are capable of accomplishing more than you think. Saturday may have given you a rough start, but Sunday is your day to redeem yourself!
All-Nighters
Expectation
How are you supposed to study everything you need to if you waste precious hours on sleep? Who needs sleep? Sleep is for the weak! You can sleep once finals are over.
Reality
Getting at least six hours of sleep the night before an exam will help you more than six more hours of mind-numbing studying. REM sleep helps to consolidate your memories. In other words, sleep actually helps you remember all that important information you've been working so hard to learn. If you don't trust that sleep is the way to go, you can pull all-nighters, but your morning headache will be a harsh reminder that your mind and body need sleep to work at 100 percent efficiency.
Sleep is magical.
Eating
Expectation
Eating a balanced diet is vital, especially during finals week. That is why you are planning on eating healthy and nutritiously! Say goodbye to junk food, because there is only brain food on the menu this week.
Reality
Eating healthy during finals week is hard, to say the least. You are stressed, and what is a better stress reliever than chocolate? Lots of chocolate. Late-night studying means midnight snacks, and that is when the junk food temptation will strike—when you are at your weakest.
Energizing
Expectation
Any lost sleep can be made up for in caffeine. Energy drinks, chocolate, and coffee were all made for the specific purpose of helping students get through finals week. One cup o' Joe and you'll be right as rain!
Reality
Caffeine will only get you so far. With every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In caffeine's case, that means, ultimately, you will crash. Or, in some rare instances, there have been cases of people escaping so far into the world of coffee and energy drinks that their bodies gained new abilities.*
*Drink (coffee) Responsibly.
Study Groups
Expectation
Two heads are better than one, right? Studying will be a piece of cake once you and your study buddies meet up. You all understand how important it is to study for finals, so no one would dare cause a distraction. Studying in groups isn't about socializing, it's about learning in the most efficient way possible.
Reality
Studying in groups does make learning a lot easier. You can zoom through study materials much faster when you have another person helping you. More often than you would like, though, group members can lose patience and opt to abandon studying for more entertaining endeavors.
Helping Others
Expectation
With every final week comes the fated question: "Can you help me with [insert class topic here]?" People are going to come seeking your insight and knowledge. You worry you won't be prepared to help them, because even though you have been studying for days, it still feels like you have a long way to go. You are a student, after all, not the teacher.
Reality
You are smarter than you think, and you know more than you realize. It may feel like you haven't retained much from your studies, but that is just because you need to put it to the test! Explaining study topics with classmates can be a great way to test your knowledge, while also cementing what you already know.
Starting Your First Final
Expectation
It is your first final, and to be honest, you don't know what to expect. And not knowing what to expect is an uneasy feeling. You just want some guarantee that your hard work and commitment has been enough and that you are prepared.
Reality
All your long days and late nights of studying pay off during that first exam, because you finally have the chance to show how much you have learned. You'll be surprised by all the information you recall; information you didn't even realize you knew. You can take a breath and relax a bit now, because you have one less test to worry about.
Leaving Your Last Final
Expectation
The sweet taste of freedom is upon you! It is time to celebrate and let loose, because responsibilities are a thing of the past, and fun is here to stay for awhile. The end of finals means the beginning of break, and break means no classes, no schedule, no stress, and no studying!
Reality
You are ecstatic that exams are over. Now that you don't have any more tests to prepare for, though, your mind and body catch up to you. You want to celebrate, and you will, but first you need to take a quick nap—or hibernation.
After
During finals week, you are so busy studying and taking tests, that you never have the chance to really think about what it will be like when it is all over. You don't have any expectations, so you just ride through the chaos of finals week and when it all ends, you wake up to find that you did, once again, make it out alive!
