It’s that time of year again, and the last thing any of us want to do is schoolwork. But we have to. This week is the last week of classes, when our final papers are due, when we have our presentations, when we start to review for finals which are our only barrier towards a month of freedom. I could make a list of things I’d rather be doing, or supply a page of GIFs describing my feelings. Instead, I’m writing a pep talk, because I need one right about now and you probably do too.
“You can do anything in short term.” I quote my mom a lot on here, and this article is no exception. That’s become my mantra as of late. There are days I’m at school for over twelve hours, having any combination of quizzes and tests and presentations and performances in addition to the regular classwork, the practice regimen, work, and tutoring. That’s only happened a couple of times so far. Those days are about to become nearly every day. Everything you do is pushing towards that end goal of winter break. It’s only two weeks away. Compared to the rest of your life, that’s nothing. Two weeks, and it will be over. Short term. Get your studying done, be proud of whatever final products you put forth. Succeed, and then you can make up for all that lost sleep.
Make a studying schedule now. Figure out when your finals are and how much material you need to cover. Find a tutor or schedule a meeting with a professor if something isn’t making sense. Do it now so that on the final you don’t turn to the first question and find out it’s that one thing you forgot to study. Have goals for each day in mind so that you aren’t just staring at a textbook for hours on end, remembering nothing the next day. Use timers, take breaks. Hopefully by now you know what method of studying works best for you. Remember to eat and sleep. Whatever tasks you have yet to accomplish will seem so much smaller once you break them up and lay them out in front of you.
Persevere. That’s my new buzzword. There will be another article about this more specifically, but in the face of finals week it is so, so relevant. Don’t burn out halfway through because you feel like you failed your first final. It’s over, there’s nothing you can do about it, so just pour that much more energy into the next one. The finish line is in sight. It’s true that time will continue, no matter how you use it, but doesn’t it make sense to make the most out of it? If you treat school like your job, and your grades like a paycheck, wouldn’t you want to get as much out of it as possible? Is one class troubling you? There’s only two weeks left; then you might never have to think about material or see that professor again.
Finally, believe in yourself. You’ve gotten this far through college. You’ve survived; you’ve gotten through every other obstacle thrown your way. You only have to go through this twice a year. You can do it!
Good luck, everyone. Get your head in your notes and I’ll see you when it’s over!
