Finals week is in full swing here at University of Houston. Students begin to savagely inhabit the library (which, by the way coogs, stays open 24-hours throughout the finals festivities) to study for tests, finish up missing work, and grasp at every extra credit opportunity. This high-performance week sends students into an uncontrollable madness. You know the symptoms... You swear your vision has begun to give out on you after long hours of staring at screens and textbooks (hey, at least it might help that B look like an A). When you walk into the library you automatically begin to embody Ethan Hunt, because finding a a good spot... or any spot... is mission impossible. You frequently visit your doctor to ask (again) if you can have a caffeine-I.V... you know, the usual.
Here is how finals week unfolds, as told by the cast of Friends.
You realize it's humanly impossible to do all of the work you've got to do.
You find yourself publicly yelling at electronics that have frozen and, no doubt, deleted the 10 page essay that you had almost finished (valuable lesson, save your work...often).
You turn the device back with a smidgen of hope that your paper saved itself. But...
Finals that involve a group project have turned you into an aggressive... uh, cheerleader? for your peers. Hey, their grade is now your grade.
Your intense studying has made you a huge know-it-all.
Alas, your brain just can't handle anymore, and the foreign language you're studying sounds like... well, a foreign language.
You are so excited when your professor tells you your final exam is going to be short.
...But then you die a little bit inside when she says it's going to be all open ended responses.
That moment when you thought you were done, but remembered you have one last assignment... due at midnight.
Since you stay up all night studying... sleeping is no longer something you control.
The mental exhaustion has made you want to start behaving like a responsible 80 year old.
Orrrr a completely irresponsible 21 year old...
You're slightly jealous of (but still totally concerned about) the person who claims they didn't do the review, but isn't nervous for the exam.
That fake smile you give when you're working on something really important, but someone keeps interrupting you to ask for help.
How you feel about registering for classes next semester...
And finally, you may need your friends to console you from the trauma....
...but you can get excited because YOU'RE DONE.
Now, go ahead....
You deserve it.
