No people, not that F-Word--the one reserved for academics, and can be said in PG rated movies. It's that time of the year that gives everyone a little taste of what being in Hell might be like... Finals week. The time where every student is struggling in higher education. The time where every student suddenly becomes super stressed for one week out of the semester. The time where sleep is truly for the weak. Finals Week is what brings all of this upon students, and this is a look at what exactly it is.
Like a good-to-bad first date, you start out the week before not worrying about anything. You are anxious because you feel like you know something is coming, but you're thinking it will be a piece of cake. In reality, you start to get the information on what exactly your finals are like. You have the great professors who say write an essay, and turn it in by a specific date. Then you have the professors who tell you, there are multiple steps to the final exam.
THEN, you have the professors who give you an easy final. "It's online and you can take it whenever you want by the end of finals weeks." Either way, these professors give you two types of professors in this world: The Easy Final ones, and the Difficult Final Givers. There is honestly no in between.
Next comes the hard part: Preparation. You decide to get a head start! Review for your Finals that are cumulative, and think about what exactly you learned throughout the semester. Now, at some point in your career, you have had a class that you have "check out" at some point in the semester. You might have forgotten about a chapter at some point in the semester, or honestly do not remember the material. Either way, now is the time that you are forced to learn the material and make sure that you know it for your exam.
Then comes the dreadful final step: exam day. You have studied until the wee hours of the morning, lost multiple hours of sleep, and sacrificed your social life for finals week. (Along the way you may or may not have taken the Netflix study break). You feel as though you have prepared for the exam, and can take anything that your professor can throw at you. Your exam comes to you, and you literally give it your undivided attention for two hours, making sure that you double check your answers if you finish early, and finally turn it in. Your studying, lack of sleep, and now final exam are finished. On to summer break!
I could go on, and on about how I feel about finals week, and the stress it entails for all students, but I will not. I will leave one final thought with you though to every student who reads this: "Numbers do not define your life." Education is a phenomenal tool, and a great thing to have in the present day. I know that in the midst of finals week we all start to lose sight of that, but the hard work does pay off! Stay strong everyone, and may the curve be ever in your favor.
