I have the tendency to get stressed out very, very easily. Little problems that can be solved simply seem like life or death situations to me. I am a very anxious person who gets overwhelmed and nervous about “problems” that I will forget about in a week, a day, or maybe even an hour later. I’ve always been this way and probably always will. Saying this, midterm and finals week used to be a guaranteed five days of Hell for me. For this one week every school year, I was an emotional wreck who couldn’t sleep, eat, or socialize with anyone but my textbooks. Coffee became my best friend. I constantly found myself counting down the minutes to when I would hear the sweet, sweet, sound of the beautiful bell that would ring at 2:45 on Friday, when the world would finally be a happy place again.
I’ve survived finals week before, and I promise you it can be done. It will never be easy, but the overwhelming, scary, menacing way many of us perceive it can be avoided. By following a few simple rules, you will come out of finals week alive and well. You won’t just “survive” your finals, you’ll thrive during them.

Tip 1: Study, but don’t stress
Yes, studying is a smart idea when you are preparing for a midterm, but cramming in thousands of facts at midnight, forcing you to take the exam on three hours of sleep won’t get you anywhere. About a week before the final, try to look at your notes, re-visit old projects, and go through old tests and quizzes for about 20 minutes a night. By the time your final day arrives, all of the material on the assessment will come naturally to you, and you won’t be exhausted from a study session at one a.m. the morning of the test.

Tip 2: Eat healthy and regularly
Eating lots of fruits and vegetables will give you a sharp mind for the midterm. Make sure to wake up in time to prepare a hearty breakfast that’s packed with protein and nutrition. This will give you much needed energy so you will have a keen mind for an exam. Avoid food or drink with high amounts of sugar, so you steer clear of crashing and burning right in the midst of the test. Eating regularly is also essential. Make sure you are consistently having three or more meals. Eating too much or too little will make you feel sick, putting you in an unfortunate state physically for the exam.

Tip 3: Look at the bigger picture
A midterm may seem feel like it reveals whether you’ve succeeded or failed your academic year, but it doesn’t come close to having that much importance. This grade does not define you as student, a learner, and most certainly not as an individual. Try hard for these tests and put effort into them, but don’t worry yourself sick over A+’s and 100’s. Five years from now you’ll look back at these tests and realize that there are many more important things in life than a grade. Life goes on. When you go out in the world and experience things, you’ll realize that the path to your happiness requires hard work, persistence, and determination. But that will come with years of life and love and loss. A grade is a grade, and eventually things will work out in a way that they were meant to for you. Create your own destiny, and don’t rely on a test grade to create it for you.