Hell weeks — we know them well. Suddenly, all the professors got together and decided that this week seemed like just the right sort of weather and the right alignment of the planets, to have exams, psets, papers and projects all due at once.
Basically, professors probably feel something like this:
It's the latest technology. Missing an exam, turning in the wrong pset, doing a project entirely wrong for a class... so many kinds of grenades.
So all we want to do is this:
If we don't look at it, it doesn't exist, right? At least, until the night before it's due.
Eventually, you have to suck it up and get started because your first exam is on Monday morning.
It's always at the least convenient time.
March right up to that exam, power walk down the Infinite. Square your shoulders, look straight ahead and think murder. Once you get to the exam, if you glare at it long enough, then you can intimidate the questions into giving up the answers, right?
I've heard that's how it works.
Then, fully caffeinated, the first pset seems like a breeze.
You're on a roll because hey, you actually went to that lecture!
And then suddenly, you hit a wall.
It's alright, this pset wasn't that important anyway. Enough of the questions are answered that you can just draw a cat for this one, right?
So you try to go for a friend for help, but they're lost too, and you're both like...
Sometimes something almost sounds like an answer, but not quite what they're asking for.
But then you can go to another friend for help and they whip out the whole problem in five seconds.
Sort of understand it? Or at least, got it written down? Great!
One pset down, so many to go, and you start to lose sleep. But everything has to get done, and it's so far so good, but you're starting to act a little... odd.
Social interaction? Well...
Conversations are hard on four, three... OK, two hours of sleep, but we try. At least, if we get sleep.
Inevitably, you find yourself pulling an all-nighter.
They are due dates. They sneak up on you, only when you aren't looking, and if you blink, you'll totally miss them. Because you'll fall asleep. At your desk. And it's basically time travel, right? But don't do it, you need to finish that paper.
Oh, by the way, the exam scores are in.
(Good luck)
But in the end, you make it!
Everything's turned in and out of the way and it's the weekend! All the work is left to the TAs, it's not your problem, and hopefully they like cat drawings.
Hell weeks are hard, but we can do it!
Like Matt Smith says, there is always hope. And caffeine. And S^3. (I swear that's in the show too, but they cut that part of the quote out of the GIF.)
Pro tip: If you think you'll have to pull an all-nighter, getting a 20-minute nap every six hours can double performance compared to no sleep at all. Keep that in mind now and during finals. Good luck!
