This semester during finals week, I spent every minute I wasn’t studying re-watching Grey’s on Netflix (for the sixth time). It’s safe to say I’m obsessed, and I can appreciate the humor in the show because the doctors’ lives are basically like the last two weeks of the semester wrapped up in a nutshell. Even though our exams, papers, and assignments aren’t quite life or death situations, a lot of the doctors are completely accurate in describing our lives during the hell we call finals week. For instance…
When you forget to write a paper until two hours before it’s due.
It’s happened to all of us at least once; you can’t deny it. Even the best students crack under pressure when there are three days left in the semester and summer is so close you can practically taste it.
When your priorities are very important.
Stress-eating is practically required. At this point, what’s another pint of ice cream and bag of Doritos when your last exam is twelve hours away? You’ll work it off later.
Trying to give yourself a pep-talk, but failing miserably.
When you just can’t remember and memorize a whole semester’s worth of content for six classes in two days, no matter how hard you try. You just can’t.
Studying.
When you just go to bed because you can’t study for one more minute.
Trying to get through your third panic attack of the day.
Everything is just building up and your anxiety explodes…at least every other hour.
When you have three papers due and two cumulative exams on the same day.
Because professors are very well aware that this is the week everything is due, and yet they each assign a paper worth half of your cumulative grade due by Wednesday anyway.
Bonding sessions with your classmates.
The class that no one has understood anything in all semester.
When you just got out of your last exam and your RA asks if you’re done packing yet.
There is no way you had this much stuff on move-in day and you have no idea where you’re going to put it all.
When someone says they didn’t have any cumulative exams.
Some professors only test on the last unit of the semester. Don’t be the guy who brags about it. Just don’t.
When someone reminds you that you still have to go back to work on Monday.
This week has been bad enough and that reminder just makes you want to sleep for three days straight.
Your weekend plans to celebrate the end of the semester.
You’ve worked so hard and you definitely deserve it.
The first thing your siblings say when you get home.
You can’t even be mad at them this time, because you know it’s true and sleeping is exactly what you plan on doing.
When you just don’t want to do anything because you’re completely drained mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Staring at the wall and crying because you just can’t remember what normal feels like.
When you get home and your parents ignore you because they’re not used to you being there.
Every fall, they experience that whole empty nest thing, but it’s spring and they’re over that now so you feel like you don’t belong in your own house anymore. That’s OK, though, because you’re used to having unlimited freedom, so how much time are you actually going to spend at home anyway?
When your family asks about your GPA.
We’ve all dodged this question at least a few dozen times after every semester.
When someone in your class asks if your grade has been posted yet.
There are just those exams that you know you either did really well on or you completely bombed and there’s just no in between. Not to mention that you never want to tell someone what you got if his or her grade is higher because that’s just another hit to your ego after one of the worst weeks ever.
When you see your pets for the first time in months.
Pets never fail to act like you’re their favorite person in the world, especially if they haven’t seen you in a while. If there’s one thing finals week is good for, it’s knowing that you get to be back with who loves you most when the week is over (and your parents too).
When you get your exam grades back and you totally killed them.
All the hours you spent awake, studying, worrying, and practically going crazy completely paid off! Even if you didn’t do as well as you’d hoped you would, you still survived the week and now you have four months of summer to look forward to!
