Don't get me wrong, finals week is one of the absolute most taxing weeks of the entire semester for me, as well as many of my fellow college students. Between spending countless hours at the library, completely ruining my sleep schedule, and enduring seemingly endless amounts of stress, finals week can prove to be a time of pure torture. I would like to meet the malicious mastermind who decided that it would be a good idea to take a bunch of people in their late teens and early twenties, give them a bunch of tests that would leave them mentally exhausted, and then tell them, "Your future depends on these grades."
With all of this being said, I'd like to point out that our first priority now as well as any other time should be our mental wellbeing. So, in light of all of the stress and tears being caused by constant studying and test taking, let's try to look on the bright side. Here are a few reasons to actually love finals week. Here's to staying positive!
1. No classes.
If there's anything that comes close to stressing me out as much as exams do, it would probably be the weeks of classes leading up to these exams. One of my favorite parts about finals week is that there are no classes thus giving me time (aside from when I'm studying) to take naps, catch up a little on my favorite shows on Netflix, or maybe take some time to head downtown with some friends and wind down by the Riverwalk.
2. Finals are a perfect excuse to pig ou.
I don't know about you, but when I stress out, I tend to forget to eat. For this very reason, I make a point to eat plenty throughout finals week. When you spend hours upon hours sitting around in the library, it's easy to forget how long it's been since your last meal, but how am I supposed to function properly on an empty stomach? The trick is to eat whatever you want without feeling guilty. You already have enough to worry about during finals week; you don't need to make how much or how little you eat another contributing factor to your stress.
3. Quality bonding time with friends.
Some of my most vivid and meaningful memories between friends often happened to begin with a build up of emotions. Such as the time my suite-mate became considerably homesick, resulting in a night filled with heart-to-hearts and bittersweet personal stories bringing us closer than ever, or even the time my roommate and I felt down in the dumps after an exhausting day and ended up chatting to each other at midnight in a lifeguard stand over pint-sized Ben and Jerry's Half Baked ice cream. These are some of my favorite memories with my friends, because our emotions broke us down, allowed us to be vulnerable and real, and brought us closer together. Finals week will undoubtedly toy with your emotions by exhausting you both physically and mentally, and while this is by no means a great feeling, it is often during the times that you are most emotionally vulnerable that you allow yourself to really become close with a new person. That, the idea of being open and vulnerable with another person and turning it into something as valuable as a close friendship, is a beautiful thing.
4. It is the last stretch.
You are almost done! This last week is just an opportunity for you to finish the semester and go out with a bang. Once you ace that calculus exam during finals, you can walk out of that classroom and realize that you are absolutely finished with calculus for the rest of your college career (unless you are a math major, in that case, just think about how it feels to complete your English course). With each exam you complete, another 50 pounds of stress gets miraculously lifted off your shoulders!
5. You did it! Celebrate!
You worked so hard to get to the end of this week! You deserve to go out and have fun! You killed your exams. Now your professors are proud of you, your parents are proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself! That's a perfect reason to treat yo' self a bit and do something that makes you happy! Whether it's ordering an entire Papa John's pizza for yourself, going out to the beach bars with some friends, or simply taking a night for some much-needed R&R after all of that hard work. Regardless of how you choose to celebrate, make sure you do, because despite the fact that the week felt like it would never end, it's over now and you crushed it!
