Symptoms: Red eyes, four cups of caffeine, un-brushed hair sloppily knotted into a bun complimenting a pair of joggers and over-sized sweatshirt. Increased groaning and mumblings, inability to form coherent responses to questions, and extreme laughter at inappropriate times.
Diagnosis: Must be finals season.
Treatment: Although the disease currently has no cure, fortunately there are ways to combat the symptoms. These tips to study for finals without losing your sanity may be of help.
Tip #1: Get Organized.
Daily small chunks are the way to go. I like to break it down by chapters and sections, reviewing about the same number each day for several days leading up to the exam. Note the sections that are confusing or you are not confident in and come back to them the night before the test. But I can’t say enough to have a plan and that the material needs to be broken down. Too much at one time right before the final is dangerous. Procrastination is this disease’s worst enemy.
Tip #2: Take Breaks.
Staring at a book or computer screen for too long can make you crazy. As much as you may want to sit for hours and hours and hours, take a break. Get outside, go for a walk. Remember the world is bigger than your library cubicle or 20 x 20 foot dorm room. Even if it’s ten minutes getting up and doing ab exercises for five minutes. I mean, why not strengthen your core as you exhaust your brain?
Tip #3: Food.
I mean, because, why not? Food makes me happy, I bet it makes you happy too. Especially if it’s dark chocolate. Reward yourself, eat some sugar, have a handful of chips, get a burger. Plus, your brain needs the energy.
Tip #4: Get your beauty sleep.
Not only will this help the red eyes, easing the desperation you may feel to chug another cup of caffeine, but it will also help your brain. Grab a fuzzy blanket, cozy up, and dream away.
Tip #5: Take “Me” Time
My first-year I got the crazies. I did studying almost all wrong. I spent hours on my bed reading over my textbooks in one sitting. This led me to doing crazy things. It wouldn’t be uncommon to find me calling out to people through my second-story window and then ducking down so they wouldn’t see who belonged to the mysterious voice. I wouldn’t recommend that. Do something for yourself. Color like a child and forget that you are on your way to adulting and the real world. Sing a song and shake it off with Taylor Swift as you twirl around your room. Paint your nails, take a hot shower, drink some tea. Release the crazies building up. Do something you like to do.
Tip #6: Trust.
Finals can be tough. Papers, exams, on top of presentations and everything else jammed into a few short weeks. It’s easy to get lost, to let the pressure of a grade consume you. Cry it out and stand in the mirror with your superman/superwoman pose, look at your gorgeous reflection in the eyes and remind yourself that you can conquer this disease like the beast that you are. In the end, grades don’t define us. The rest of your life and the joy and impact you can have is not contingent on getting an A. America likes to feed us those lies, but I refuse to let society define what success means for me anymore. Instead, I choose to trust. To trust that my life is more than a grade. To believe that my worth is more than a GPA, a job, a salary. I trust that for you too.
