No matter how prepared you are or how easy your finals end up being, it is a well-known fact that finals week sucks. Depending on how many tests you have and what days they’re on, finals week is 3-5 days and nights of minimum sleep and maximum cramming. The recovery process takes longer for some than others, but there are four things that everyone should be doing in that first weekend to get their life back in balance.   

1. SLEEPING             

Some of us leave ourselves needing to pull multiple all-nighters in order to not completely bomb our finals. Others can get away with just a few hours of studying every night with no fear of failing. But however you approach finals, we all sleep less than we do during normal classes, and that means by Friday, we can be pretty drained if we haven’t already turned into a living zombie. 

So whether you decide to stay at school for the first few days after exams, or go straight home, the first night of your break should consist of being in bed before midnight and staying there until at least noon. Our brains and bodies are both on E, and even if our parents might not agree, we all worked hard enough throughout that week as well as the entire semester to earn a day of no responsibilities.   

2. DRINKING             

Now that we’re well rested, it’s time to either drown away our sorrows from another disappointing semester or congratulate ourselves for kicking school’s a$$. If you’re lucky enough to have stayed the extra night in Auburn, go downtown and hang out with a couple thousand of your closest friends. Complain about how little you slept, brag about how good your grades are going to be, and take at least two shots because War Damn Guschamp*. 

This is a night to let it all go, to make up for the countless hours spent staring into a laptop or book, and to spend all the money your parents gave you for gas to drive home. If you were unlucky enough to have to go straight home after finishing finals, go ahead and raid your parents’ liquor cabinet and binge on Netflix with your best hometown friends.   

3. EATING A DELICIOUS HOMECOOKED MEAL        

It’s a proven fact that everyone’s mom is the best cook in the world, and regardless of how much she taught us before we left for college, our efforts just don’t compare. Sure, Momma G’s and Little Italy is great, but after four and a half months, we all miss the comfort of our own dinner tables.     

4. MORE SLEEPING   

If you did it right, you’re probably still a little hungover from your most recent long night out, and what better way to recover than to pretend the world has stopped and only two things exist — your TV and your bed. This is really what Christmas break is all about, so why not take full advantage of having a month of no responsibilities?